DCCC scales back in market covering New Hampshire, Massachusetts House races

by Alexandra Jaffe - 10/10/12 4:18 PM ET

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is cutting $650,000 from the Boston broadcast market for the week starting Oct. 23, according to a Democrat tracking media buys, in part because the party doesn’t face a fight in Massachusetts’s 9th District, where Rep. Bill Keating (D) is expected to win handily.

{mosads}But the DCCC still retains $700,000 on the air in the market, more than double what Republicans are spending there. The Democratic funds have not yet been allocated to any races, but three in the area — in New Hampshire’s House races and Massachusetts’s 6th District — remain fierce battles.

In New Hampshire, Rep. Frank Guinta (R) faces a strong challenge from Democrat Carol Shea-Porter in the 1st District, who has posted a lead in four independent polls of the race — a reversal of her fortunes in 2010, when she lost to Guinta by 12 points.

Rep. Charlie Bass (R), running to keep his seat in New Hampshire’s 2nd District, was tied with Democratic nominee Ann Kuster in the most recent independent poll.

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And in Massachusetts, Republicans see their only pickup opportunity in the deep-blue state in Richard Tisei, a former state legislator who led incumbent Rep. John Tierney (D) in the most recent independent poll. Tierney has been dogged by the scandal surrounding his family’s gambling ring throughout his campaign, and Republicans have poured more than a million dollars into the race on ads highlighting the scandal.

The DCCC just entered the fray, launching an ad on Tuesday that attempts to tie Tisei to the Tea Party, and the National Education Association’s independent expenditure arm just filed a $500,000 buy against Tisei. The new influx of Democratic cash in the race seems to indicate the party is fighting a battle it didn’t originally expect, due largely to Tisei’s surprising strength in the district.

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