A new NRCC ad pushes back against Rep. Mike McIntyre. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Updated 1:10 p.m. | The National Republican Congressional Committee launched a counterpunch ad in North Carolina’s 7th district knocking incumbent Rep. Mike McIntyre (D) for his vote against the controversial budget of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (R), providing a window into how Republicans will fight back against Democratic attacks that GOP candidates want to “essentially end Medicare.”
The new NRCC television ad begins with a short clip of a recent DCCC ad in a TV box in which the narrator said, “David Rouzer’s budget would essentially end Medicare.”
Then a male narrator’s deep voice says, “Hold it!” as those words appear over the TV. “The truth: David Rouzer will preserve, protect and strengthen Medicare. But career politician [Rep.] Mike McIntyre doesn’t want you to know: He voted against giving prescription drug benefits to millions of seniors,” the NRCC narrator says.
“And since Obama’s been president, McIntyre’s voted against every plan to save Medicare from going bankrupt. Isn’t it time Mike McIntyre put seniors before politics? You decide,” the narrator says.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will begin airing an ad today knocking North Carolina state Sen. David Rouzer, the Republican opponent of Rep. Mike McIntyre in the Tar Heel State’s 7th district.
It’s the DCCC’s second independent expenditure ad of the election season and follows their standard messaging playbook, implicitly hitting GOP candidates for support of Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, while explicitly hitting them for wanting to “essentially end Medicare.”
The anti-Rouzer ad begins with a clip from one his own ads in which he tells viewers “we need more North Carolina values in Washington.” The ad then relies on moving graphics and a young- and hip-sounding male narrator backed by synthesized music.
“David Rouzer’s budget would essentially end Medicare,” the narrator says. “That’s not a North Carolina value.”
“Seniors would pay $6,400 a year for their health care and David Rouzer would use that money to give millionaires another tax cut: that’s definitely not a North Carolina value,” the narrator says. “Seniors pay more so millionaires can pay less? David Rouzer sounds like he’s in Washington already.”
The ad is backed by a buy of $50,000 through Aug. 27.
McIntyre is one of the more vulnerable Democratic Members in the country, but recent Democratic polling found him leading Rouzer by 19 points. Democrats hope an early ad push will shore up McIntyre even more and make him a less enticing target for Republicans. McIntyre has been on the air with ads as well.
The GOP, not surprisingly, has a different view on the race. A recent Rouzer campaign survey had McIntyre up by only four points. Republicans are confident McIntyre can be knocked off this November and the National Republican Congressional Committee has already started airing ads against him.
A new poll commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee found vulnerable Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) leading his Republican challenger, state Sen. David Rouzer, by 19 points. That’s a very different image than the one painted by a GOP poll released Monday, which found McIntyre leading Rouzer by only 4 points.
The Democratic survey found McIntyre led Rouzer 53 percent to 34 percent, including those who were undecided but leaned toward one candidate or the other. Full story
Rep. Mike McIntyre (left) is among the most vulnerable House Democrats this cycle. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Vulnerable North Carolina Rep. Mike McIntyre (D) had a slight edge over state Sen. David Rouzer, his Republican opponent, according to a new poll conducted by the Rouzer campaign.
In a matchup among likely voters in the reconfigured 7th district, McIntyre pulled 44 percent to Rouzer’s 40 percent. Fifteen percent were undecided.
Redistricting made the 7th significantly more favorable to Republicans and made McIntyre one of the more vulnerable incumbents in the House. Full story
North Carolina Congressional candidate David Rouzer is among the National Republican Congressional Committee's newest Young Guns. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
The National Republican Congressional Committee today announced its second round of Young Guns — GOP candidates who have been placed in the top tier of the committee’s recruitment and candidate support program.
“These candidates have met a series of rigorous goals that will put them in position to win on Election Day,” NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) said. “The momentum behind these campaigns is proof-positive that Americans are fed up with President Obama’s policies …” Full story
The National Republican Congressional Committee announced today that eight GOP House candidates are one step closer to earning the committee’s top-tier Young Guns status.
Those eight candidates progressed to the Contender level, the third step in the four-step Young Guns program. The candidates must meet district-specific benchmarks to move through the program, which gives fundraising and infrastructure assistance.
State Sen. David Rouzer, who won a contested GOP primary contest Tuesday night in the 7th district, immediately took aim at his general election opponent, Rep. Mike McIntyre (D).
“He’s walked in lock step with Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi,” Rouzer said in a short interview Wednesday, echoing national GOP talking points. “The stimulus bill in particular” would be an issue, he said. “Clearly the stimulus failed.”
Rouzer said he thought he needed to raise $1.5 million to $2 million to win. McIntyre had $764,000 in the bank in mid-April. Full story
Updated: 11:37 p.m. | North Carolina voters went to the polls Tuesday to select candidates in a series of primary elections, but the results may have broader implications. The winners of a number of competitive Republican contests are likely to be elected to Congress this November.
An extreme gerrymander by the GOP-controlled statehouse means Republicans could net as many as four seats from the Tar Heel State this cycle.
Voting ended at 7:30 p.m. and here are some of the top results by district, updated as they come in from the Associated Press. In primaries where no candidate got more than 40 percent, the top two finishers will battle in a runoff on July 17. Full story
North Carolina state Sen. David Rouzer, locked in a contest for the GOP nomination to take on Rep. Mike McIntyre (D), released a TV ad knocking President Barack Obama’s “liberal compass” and then introduces himself as a candidate with “North Carolina values.”
The first 10 seconds of the ad slam the president for spending, debt and unemployment. Then the spot abruptly shifts to a bio spot for Rouzer.
“I was raised to work hard and have faith in the Lord,” he says. “Sen. Jesse Helms taught me how to defend those values, so in Raleigh, I cut wasteful spending and opposed Obamacare. And in Washington, I’ll do the same.”
Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), who had flirted with a gubernatorial run earlier this year and who was drawn into Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell’s district by the GOP-controlled Legislature, filed to run in the 7th district Monday. Full story
Will the last endangered Democratic official in North Carolina please turn out the lights?
Rep. Brad Miller (D) announced his retirement this morning. Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue, facing the likely prospect of an epic defeat this November, announced her decision not to run for a second term this afternoon. Later, politically vulnerable Rep. Mike McIntyre (D) opened the door to running for governor of the Tar Heel State. And a local news report tonight said Rep. Heath Shuler (D) is eyeing a bid for governor as well. A Shuler spokeswoman had no comment. Full story
