Democrat Panic Setting in? House Majority PAC Cuts Funding in Key House Races
With nearly four weeks to go before the midterms, there are growing signs that Democrats have already thrown in the towel on several key House races. Last week, sources inside the Democratic Congressional Campaign…
With nearly four weeks to go before the midterms, there are growing signs that Democrats have already thrown in the towel on several key House races.
Last week, sources inside the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee told The Washington Post the party simply lacks the funds “to fully contest all of their potentially winnable House races this cycle.”
DCCC executive director Tim Persico told the Post, “There are places that I don’t know if we are going to be able to get to. It’s just money. They have billionaires and corporations stepping up with big checks, and we just don’t have the same type of support. We are just getting outspent everywhere, so it is just a question of how much can we withstand.”
On Tuesday, Townhall reported that the House Majority PAC has also cut back its spending plans as seats they hadn’t anticipated defending have suddenly grown more competitive.
Axios’ political analyst Josh Kraushaar explained, “We’re seeing Democrats cut off funding for some candidates primarily because they don’t have enough resources to spend in an expanding battleground map.”
Axios reported that Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran of Arizona “told donors last month that the party needs to step up soon to help him win against former President Donald Trump-back Eli Crane.”
Over the past month, the National Republican Congressional Committee has spent over $1.7 million in attack ads, he said. O’Halleran’s district has been redrawn. According to Roll Call, Biden lost the newly drawn 2nd district to former President Donald Trump by 8 points in 2020. That makes O’Halleran extremely “vulnerable.”
In what The Texas Tribune called the state’s most competitive race this year between Progressive Democrat Michelle Vallejo and conservative Republican Monica De La Cruz, a source familiar with the House Majority PAC’s plans told Axios they plan to cancel a previously scheduled ad buy at the end of October. This district was also redrawn this year. The new district would have voted for Trump by 2.8 points. This is an open seat.
In Wisconsin, Democrat Brad Pfaff and Republican Derrick Van Orden are vying for the open seat currently occupied by Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, who is retiring. Although there is no polling available, RealClearPolitics rates this race as “leans GOP.” The source told Axios the House Majority PAC has not helped Pfaff so far in this race and plans to cancel an ad buy scheduled for the end of the month.
Kraushaar noted that although Van Orden was at the Capitol on Jan. 6., he claimed he stayed away from “restricted grounds” and left when the situation began to escalate. He sees “the Democratic disengagement from a Wisconsin district it currently holds is a notable concession that Jan. 6 isn’t resonating as an election issue with swing voters.”
A senior Democratic official told Kraushaar, “There aren’t many positive signals for Democrats in Wisconsin right now.”
The RCP House map currently shows 35 races in the toss-up column. Of those, 29 of those seats are currently held by Democrats and 6 by Republicans. Democrats are clearly on the defense this year.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has withheld funding from Nevada Republican Sam Peters, who’s running against Democratic Rep. Stephen Horsford. According to Axios, party leaders consider Peters as “too extreme” to win in a district Biden won by 8 points.
The NRCC is not helping New Hampshire Republican Bob Burns in his race against Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster. Concerned that this seat was vulnerable, Democrats interfered in the Republican primary to boost the more extreme Burns over his more moderate opponent, knowing he’d have a difficult time in the general election.
Kraushaar noted that the Republican Senate Leadership Fund canceled over $9 million in ad spending for Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters in his race against Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly.
They may want to rethink that decision. Since Labor Day, he has managed to cut Kelly’s high single-digit lead to 4.5 points. Masters hit Kelly hard during a debate on Friday night and appears to be gaining momentum. He has some Republicans thinking we just might see an upset victory in the Grand Canyon State.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.