Special elections attract massive national funds

Two Republican-leaning southern House districts have turned into national battlegrounds, drawing a total of nearly $900,000 in investment from the Republican and Democratic parties.

Independent expenditures filed Friday show a total of $470,000 spent by Democrats and $410,000 spent by Republicans.

{mosads}The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has plugged more into the race for Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R-Miss.) former House seat, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has focused more on former Rep. Richard Baker’s (R-La.) seat.

The special election for Wicker’s seat will be held alongside the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, while the race for Baker’s seat will be decided May 3.

The NRCC has spent $290,000 to the DCCC’s $140,000 in Mississippi, and the committees have spent $120,000 and $330,000, respectively, in the later race.

The expensive special elections continue to plague the NRCC, which already spent $1.3 million on a loss in now-Rep. Bill Foster’s (D-Ill.) district in March. March financial reports, which were also filed Friday, show the DCCC with a $44.3 million to $7.2 million advantage in cash on hand at the end of March.

The DCCC again outraised the NRCC in March, $10.1 million to $7.1 million.

Both races have polled close, with Southaven Mayor Greg Davis (R) and Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers (D) facing off in Mississippi and former state Rep. Woody Jenkins (R) and state Rep. Don Cazayoux (D) battling in Louisiana.