The budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has elements in it that House Democrats think will play well for them as they seek to regain control of the body in 2012. And they are already going on the radio in key districts to lay the campaign groundwork.
One campaign is coming from a new political action committee called the House Majority PAC. It’s investing a significant amount of cash – reports say into the six-figure range — in a radio campaign aimed at ten Republicans considered vulnerable in the next election cycle. They include Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rick Crawford (R-AR), Allen West (R-FL), Chip Cravaack (R-MN), Charles Bass (R-NH), Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY), Joe Heck (R-NV), Francisco Canseco (R-TX), Blake Farenthold (R-TX) and Sean Duffy (R-WI).
Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hitting 25 Republican reps, including eight of those on the previous list. DCCC is using radio ads tied to news-traffic-weather content, live telephone banks, robocalls and email alerts. And Ryan is on this one.
It’s probably best not to get all too excited about the DCCC campaign, however. According to reports, although the targets are many the dollars being invested at this point are not.
The full DCCC list includes: Rick Crawford (R-AR); Tim Griffin (R-AR); Paul Gosar (R-AZ); Dan Lungren (RCA-); Scott Tipton (R-CO); Daniel Webster (R-FL); Bill Young (R-FL); Vern Buchanan (R-FL); Tom Rooney (R-FL); Allen West (R-FL); David Rivera (R-FL); Tom Latham (R-IA); Steve King (R-IA); Bobby Schilling (R-IL); Larry Buschon (R-IN); Dan Benishek (R-MI); Fred Upton (R-MI); Chip Cravaack (R-MN); Charlie Bass (R-NH); Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY); Steve Chabot (R-OH); Kristi Noem (R-SD); Francisco Canseco (R-TX); Paul Ryan (R-WI); and Sean Duffy (R-WI).
RBR-TVBR observation: As a general rule, any district that changed hands in a given year is automatically considered a battleground by the party seeking to regain its lost territory. That means all freshman legislators are in for a fight, all the time. If your district has a freshman, get ready for some national PAC dollars that are likely to come your way.
The other good thing about an influx of cash from one side, from an advertising venue point of view, is that it usually has the Newtonian effect of causing an equal and opposite influx of cash from the other side.
It’s like every dollar that flows in from outside the district is automatically doubled. Aren’t battlegrounds cool?
