OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: Dems winning the air war

Democrats spent much of the last two years building up big campaign warchests. Now they’re leveraging that cash advantage to dominate the airwaves in a number of states and districts.

A new report from the Wesleyan Media Project finds that Democrats have run more TV ads than Republicans in 9 of the 10 most competitive Senate races, a big advantage heading into the campaign season’s homestretch.

{mosads}The Democratic fundraising advantage has continued. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has raised almost $30 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee this cycle, bringing in more than $110 million overall, and is using that advantage on the air. Outside group spending has also been much more even for Democrats this cycle after they were outspent by considerable sums the last two. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has steadily outpaced the National Republican Congressional Committee all cycle despite being in the minority.

That ad edge has helped Democrats move races in their direction in states like Iowa, where Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) has pulled even against Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst (R), and North Carolina, where polls have shown Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) with a small but consistent lead.

Democrats are also using that cash edge to build a much more robust ground game — one the party hopes will help turn out drop-off voters and pull out a number of tight races around the country. If Democrats hold Senate control this fall and minimize House losses, their superior fundraising operations will deserve a lot of credit.

 

SENATE SHOWDOWN

FUNDRAISING: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) topped it’s counterpart’s August fundraising, raising $7.7 million in the month to the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) $6.1 million, and has $25.3 million left for the campaign’s homestretch, more than the $19.9 million the NRSC has in the bank. The DSCC has led in fundraising for much of the cycle, having raised more than $111 million overall to the roughly $82 million the NRSC has raised.

DNC: President Obama is featured in a new ad for the Democratic National Committee, the first in a $1 million campaign to turn out young, minority and female drop-off voters in the midterm elections. The radio ad, titled “Obstruction,” released Monday laments the opposition Obama has faced from congressional Republicans. It is aimed at black voters and will run on African-American radio stations nationwide. 

IA-SEN (OPEN): Democrats are feeling much better these days about Iowa, where Rep. Bruce Braley’s (D-Iowa) campaign has regained momentum after a rough early summer thanks to big spending by Democratic groups beating up on Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst (R). 

CO-SEN (UDALL): The Sierra Club endorsed Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) on Tuesday, blasting Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) as “recklessly anti-environmental.”

NH-SEN (SHAHEEN): Former President Clinton will speak at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Oct. 16 in support of Democratic congressional and gubernatorial candidates, according to WMUR. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is locked in a tough race with Republican Scott Brown.

OR-SEN (MERKLEY): Republican Senate candidate Monica Wehby’s health plan appears to have been plagiarized from a survey done for Karl Rove’s group Crossroads USA on healthcare reform, according to Buzzfeed.

 

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE

LA-05 (MCALLISTER): The Club for Growth and Citizens United Political Victory Fund endorsed businessman Zach Dasher (R), who is running against “kissing congressman” Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.).

MN-2 (KLINE): Both Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) and his opponent, Democrat Mike Obermueller, are fundraising off Bill Maher’s decision to target Kline for defeat.

TX-23 (GALLEGO): The National Republican Congressional Committee has bought more than $600,000 in airtime targeting Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Texas). 

 

AD WATCH

KY-SEN (MCCONNELL): Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) campaign fired back at Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes on Tuesday with its own ad, calling Grimes’s appearance in an ad skeet shooting a “publicity stunt” akin to the time President Obama was pictured skeet shooting in 2012.

IA-SEN (OPEN): The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee hits Joni Ernst for saying “I don’t believe we need a federal Department of Education” in a new ad.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee hits Bruce Braley for missing “twice as many votes” as any other Iowa congressman.

IA-03 (OPEN): Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is going on the air to help his former chief of staff, David Young (R), in his hotly contested House race, in a new National Republican Congressional Committee spot also featuring Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa).

NY-19 (GIBSON): Rep. Chris Gibson’s (R-N.Y.) first ad highlights his work to secure funding to combat Lyme disease.

CA-52 (PETERS): Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) touts his support for “equal pay for equal work” for women and accuses his opponent of not supporting equal pay legislation. 

MN-08 (NOLAN): The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s new ad shows GOP hopeful Stewart Mills III grooming his long hair before going on camera and accuses him of “looking out for himself” by giving tax breaks to millionaires.

NY-24 (MAFFEI): The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targets Republican John Katko on abortion and birth control in a new 30-second ad released Tuesday, labeling Rep. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.)’s challenger as a “rubber stamp” for House Republicans.

GA-12 (BARROW): The National Republican Congressional Committee accuses Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) for voting for “taxpayer-funded abortions.”

AZ-02 (BARBER): Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.)’s latest spot touts bipartisanship and suggests Washington is run by children. Meanwhile, former Rep. Gabby Giffords’s (D-Ariz.) gun control group hits former Air Force Col. Martha McSally (R) with a hard-hitting emotional ad. Giffords used to represent the district and was wounded in the same attack Barber was hurt in.

VA-10 (OPEN): The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hits Republican Barbara Comstock with $30,000 in Web ads focused on social issues.

 

POLL POSITION

AK-SEN (BEGICH): Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) leads Republican Dan Sullivan by 45 percent to 40 percent in a new poll conducted for Senate Majority PAC by Democratic firm Harstad Research.

AR-SEN (PRYOR): Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) leads Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) 46 percent to 42 percent in a new poll conducted by Democratic firm Answers Unlimited. Most recent polling has found Cotton slightly ahead.

KS-SEN (ROBERTS): Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) is trailing independent opponent Greg Orman 34 to 41 percent, according to a new survey from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling. Democrat Chad Taylor, who’s seeking to have his name removed from the ballot, pulls 6 percent in the automated poll. With Taylor removed, Orman’s lead grows to 46 percent to 36 percent.

NC-SEN (HAGAN): Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) leads Republican challenger Thom Tillis 44 to 40 percent with libertarian Sean Haugh pulling 5 percent of potential votes, according to a new poll released Tuesday from left-leaning Public Policy Polling.

MA-06 (OPEN): Two new polls from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and 314 PAC have Democrat Seth Moulton leading Republican Richard Tisei in the battle for Rep. John Tierney’s (D-Mass.) seat.

 

2016

JINDAL: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) made a splash in Washington on Tuesday, blasting President Obama’s foreign policy amid the growth of the ISIS, weighing in on the Louisiana Senate race and outlining his own energy platform. Jindal, who spoke at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast and at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said he plans to decide on a potential 2016 White House bid after the November elections.

KLOBUCHAR: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is heading back to Iowa to keynote the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner on Oct. 25. The senator is rumored to be interested in a presidential run should Hillary Clinton surprise people and pass on a run this year. 

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I have young kids, so I try very hard not to swear at home.” — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) to The Hill regarding the f-bomb she dropped in an interview earlier in the week