NRSC cuts Michigan TV

by Cameron Joseph - 10/07/14 5:00 AM ET

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has cut the remaining television it had reserved in Michigan amid signs former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (R) is having trouble catching Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

{mosads}The NRSC’s independent expenditure arm has canceled television reservations for the last two weeks of the campaign, pulling more than $850,000 out of the state, The Hill has confirmed.

Peters has had a consistent lead over Land in public polling since early summer in the Democratic-leaning state, with a lead outside the margin of error in most recent polling, and Republican strategists privately concede that she’s struggled.

“No one should be surprised to see us make a significant investment in this race in the coming days and weeks. However, right now the other outside allied groups have Michigan well covered,” Ron Bonjean, a consultant to the NRSC Independent Expenditure Committee, tells The Hill. “We will be making more decisions on the race during the next four weeks and strongly believe Terri Lynn Land will be a US Senator on November 4th.”

Bonjean said the NRSC is “monitoring this state very closely and think[s] that Terri Lynn has an excellent chance to win.”

An NRSC strategist argued the move was made from a position of strength, pointing to Land’s cash edge, and said that the official Republican Party will remain invested in get-out-the-vote operations in the state.

“Terri Lynn Land’s fundraising prowess over Gary Peters plus the public support from multiple groups is allowing us to shift TV resources elsewhere for the moment while continuing our investment in the campaign on the ground,” said the source. “The ground game and turnout operation in Michigan is already one of the strongest campaigns in the country.”

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Land had $4.8 million in the bank as of the end of June, having raised $8.6 million including $2.9 million of her own money for the race. Peters had $3.3 million in the bank as of the end of June, having raised just shy of $7 million through the campaign.

While the NRSC may be done on the air in Michigan, there are plenty of TV ads to go around in Michigan. A number of groups on both sides of the aisle have pumped millions into ad spending in the state, including the conservative Ending Spending, which has spent heavily on Land’s behalf.

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