It’s quarterly results reporting time, and company after company has noted a big decrease in the amount of political spending during this off year. But that doesn’t mean it’s dried up completely, as Republicans in 18 congressional districts can attest thanks to their colleagues across the aisle.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is taking a cue from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who believes members of Congress should be in Washington during the month of August trying to improve the employment situation.
However, members of the Republican majority did not sign on to that plan, and DCCC is hitting 18 of them for taking a five-week vacation instead.
The PAC will be running 15-second radio ads to make its point, and of course, soften up its targeted Republicans a little bit before the 2014 election season kicks into gear.
According to a Yahoo report, the targeted representatives include:
Gary Miller, California, District 31
Steve Southerland, Florida, District 2
Bill Young, Florida, District 13
Steve King, Iowa, District 4
Lynn Jenkins, Kansas, District 2
Kevin Yoder, Kansas, District 3
John Fleming, Louisiana, District 4
Dan Benishek, Michigan, District 1
Steve Daines, Montana, At-Large District
Joe Heck, Nevada, District 3
Steve Pearce, New Mexico, District 2
Kevin Cramer, North Dakota, At-Large District
Bill Johnson, Ohio, District 6
Mike Turner, Ohio, District 10
David Joyce, Ohio, District 14
Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania, District 5
Scott Rigell, Virginia, District 2
Sean Duffy, Wis., District 7
RBR-TVBR observation: Even if this particular round of spending is relatively small, it’s still good news for radio and television stations serving these districts. This buy is an early indicator that the districts targeted are seen at the very least as potential battlegrounds, and political battlegrounds are where the election year cash windfalls are most likely to land. We’d be keeping track of potential candidates and more importantly, getting to know their campaign staffers, sooner rather than later.
