The National Republican Congressional Committee has already dipped into the future for a reported $8M to defend turf as it locks horns with its opposite number, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the contest for seats in the 111th Congress. Now Politico is reporting that the DCCC is throwing caution to the wind and borrowing $15M to spend in the final two weeks.
The NRCC started the year way behind the DCCC in funding, in part due to an internal embezzlement scandal, and according to Politico, as of the end of August, DCCC already held a $54M to $14.4M advantage in the cash on hand category.
Typically after one party enjoys a particularly good year at the polls, as the Democrats did in 2006, they end up giving back some of their gains the next year. This is especially true for freshmen who took over seats formerly held by the other party, who are routinely targeted in a special effort to retake lost turf. However, this year it looks like most seats held by Democrats of any description are safe, while more Republicans are becoming vulnerable, even veteran lawmakers in what have been safe districts.
A Democratic spokesperson said this is seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to press an advantage, and that enough territory seems to be opening up that the party could easily spend double the amount it’s borrowing now.
RBR/TVBR observation: All of this means that both offensive and defensive national cash is going to flow into districts where Republican incumbents are showing signs of vulnerability. If your station is in such a district, congratulations – your coverage area has just been upgraded to battleground status.
