Kyle Trygstad looked into whether former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., will jump into South Dakota’s open Senate race now that Democrat Rick Weiland announced his candidacy. It wouldn’t be the first time Herseth Sandlin and Weiland have faced off in a primary.
Missouri state Speaker Pro Tem Jason Smith, a Republican, released his first ad in the special election to fill former Rep. Jo Ann Emerson’s seat.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a new program to cultivate strong candidates in targeted districts for 2014. The DCCC has tapped eight Democratic candidates for the program so far.
Rep. Greg Walden is the NRCC chairman. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
The National Republican Congressional Committee has bought airtime in three television markets in the next week, according to a Democrat and a Republican who monitor media buys.
The small buys target competitive districts home to Democratic incumbents:
Arizona’s 2nd District: $3,585 in the Tucson market targeting Rep. Ron Barber;
Georgia’s 12th District: $2,750 in the Augusta media market targeting Rep. John Barrow; and
Minnesota’s 7th District: $1,540 in Minneapolis media market targeting Rep. Collin C. Peterson.
These buys are minimal for television advertisements, but a well-placed GOP source cautioned the initial figures do not reflect the NRCC’s full upcoming advertising spending — and additional spending could be on the way soon.
Barrow indicated this week he is considering a run for Senate in 2014. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
As the end of the first quarter approaches, Georgia is shaping up to be ground zero for the most congressional turnover in the 2014 cycle. No other open Senate seat so far this cycle has produced as much jockeying among the House delegation as in the Peach State, where as many as five members could be poised to run statewide.
GOP Reps. Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston appear poised to soon announce bids for the state’s open Senate seat, joining Rep. Paul Broun, who has already declared.
And members may not be the only candidates hoping to replace retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss: Karen Handel, a former gubernatorial candidate, and David Perdue, the nephew of a former governor, are reportedly mulling bids.
All the ambition sets up the very real possibility that five members of the state’s congressional delegation will mount a statewide bid, leaving five open House seats and creating a serious downballot domino effect between now and next year’s primary. Full story
Israel leads the DCCC. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel named 26 of his colleagues to the Frontline program, a committee program designed to protect their most vulnerable incumbents.
“We call this program Frontline for a reason – these Members are on the vanguard of protecting and expanding the middle class,” Israel said in a written statement released Tuesday morning.
“While the 2014 campaign will be dominated by a strong offense taking on the Tea Party Republican Congress, our success begins with our Members,” added Israel, a Democrat from New York. “These battle-tested men and women have proven time and again that they can win because no one better reflects the values of their districts.”
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. will spearhead the program as its chairman. He’s a Frontline alumnus as recently as the 2012 cycle.
Otherwise, the list includes several freshman members and Blue Dog Democrats:
Stone will challenge Barrow, above, in 2014 (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
John Stone, a top House Republican aide, will mount a bid against Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., in 2014.
“Get ready, Mr. Barrow,” Stone confirmed in an interview today with CQ Roll Call.
A number of candidates have been eying the race against Barrow, a longtime Republican target who represents a district that voted for Mitt Romney in November. But Stone appears to be the first to decide on a run.
Stone lost the seat to Barrow by more than 30 points in 2008. Stone, now chief of staff to Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, said he will resign his Capitol Hill position this summer to make a second run against the five-term congressman.
Georgia Democratic Rep. John Barrow proved tonight he is the survivor’s survivor.
Drawn into a strong Republican seat during redistricting and hammered relentlessly for months by local and national Republicans, the Blue Dog Democrat managed to pull out a strong victory tonight, beating Republican Lee Anderson.
With 94 percent of precincts reporting, the Associated Press said the incumbent took 54 percent to Anderson’s 46 percent. Full story
On Friday, we noted the 10 toughest ads of the cycle. For our last Daily Ad Track here on Election Day, we take a look at the best ads of the cycle. Some are negative, some are positive, some are defensive. But all cut through the clutter this year:
10. New Hampshire 1
Group sponsoring the ad: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Women’s testimonials have cluttered television screens, but there was something about a montage of tough guys with facial hair talking about “women’s medical issues” that made us stop.
Rep. John Barrow (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
The numbers alone mean Rep. John Barrow should be a goner.
The Georgia Democrat is running in a strongly Republican district that would have voted 60 percent for President George W. Bush in 2004 and 56 percent for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008.
The decennial redistricting process in the Peach State, controlled by Republicans, was meant to eliminate Barrow. It transformed his 12th district into distinctly Republican turf.
But with less than a week to go before Election Day, there’s a growing sense among those watching the race that Barrow, known as a wily political survivor, might be coming back to Congress.
If this cycle has proved anything, it’s that the best way to knock around one’s opponent without seeming outright sinister is to hire an actor and portray the opposition as an idiot. This new spot from former WWE CEO Linda McMahon takes the concept to a whole new level with its portrayal of Democratic rival Rep. Christopher Murphy.
Buzzfeed described it as “strange and amazing.” For us, it brought to mind one of the greatest movie endings ever:
About a month ago, Roll Call published a story about how operatives adjusted their TV messaging in anticipation of ad inundation. This week, the New York Times and Ad Age have stellar pieces that dig deep into the economic implications of the nationwide ad blitz. Each article explains how it is getting harder and harder for ads to break through the clutter.
Here are the ones that are worth highlighting in that endeavor today:
Wisconsin Senate
This spot, courtesy of the Service Employees International Union, is one of the best ads of the cycle. Sure, it makes a point that surfaces in a lot of ads — a politician puts his personal gains over those of his home district or state. But what separates this ad from all of the others is how the images and depressing narration are set to an almost sarcastic sounding version of the University of Wisconsin fight song “On Wisconsin.” SEIU put $600,000 behind the ad.
A little over a month out from Election Day, television ads are increasingly negative. Over the weekend, Democrats and Republicans alike used tracker video, humor and even Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) to hammer away at the opposition.
Massachusetts’ 6th
A new ad from former state Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei (R) against Rep. John Tierney (D) essentially gives voters in the Democratic district permission to cross the ballot because of Tierney’s ongoing ethical issues. The ad assumes the viewer knows Tierney’s problems; it is part of a $600,000 buy over 15 days in the heavily saturated Boston media market. It debuted before Sunday’s New England Patriots-Buffalo Bills game.
New York’s 24th
Former Rep. Dan Maffei (D) is up with an ad tying Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle to Akin, who became a national figure with his “legitimate rape” comment. It is reasonable to assume that Akin will probably surface in other Democratic advertisements. The Maffei campaign did not immediately respond to a query on the buy information behind this advertisement.
A “great wall” of ads continues to slam voters in competitive districts, especially on the topic of China.
But the biggest news today in political ads is that Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) is no longer keeping her powder dry in the Missouri Senate race. She went right for the jugular with a new statewide television ad almost as soon as it was certain Rep. Todd Akin (R) was her general election opponent. On the House front, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has canceled a week of airtime in Florida’s 18th district, where Rep. Allen West (R) is seeking re-election. Officials said they were shifting resources to other races because House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, has reserved ad time in West’s district. House Majority PAC is also shifting resources, as the House battleground map continues to come into sharper focus.
Here are the other best TV ads and trends we saw today:
Parents of the Deceased
Two Senate campaigns put up ads offering testimonials from the parents of someone who is deceased. In each, the parent vouched for the character of the candidate.
Ohio Senate
A father of a deceased young man described the work Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) did to increase bus safety. The ad is on Ohio airwaves, which includes some of the most saturated markets in the country.
Virginia Senate
A mother described former Sen. George Allen’s (R) sympathetic reaction to the death of her son, who died was serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq. Ad spending is saturating Virginia airwaves, and this new ad is part of ongoing statewide ad buys.
China, China, China
At least there is one thing the two parties can agree on — that China is an issue to use against the other side. It is a way to attack one’s opponent on the outsourcing and deficit fronts. China was similarly prominent in 2010 general election ads. China has been raised as an issue in the presidential campaign as well.
Updated 11:32 p.m. | State Rep. Doug Collins won the GOP runoff today in Georgia’s 9th district and is almost certain to be coming to Congress from the ultra-Republican seat in the northeast portion of the state. Close with Gov. Nathan Deal (R) and backed by the Atlanta Republican establishment, Collins easily won the runoff, besting conservative talk radio host Martha Zoller by almost 10 points.
With 98.1 percent of precincts reporting, Collins had 54.6 percent to Zoller’s 45. 4 percent, the Associated Press reported.
With support from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and former GOP presidential contender Herman Cain, Zoller cast herself as the insurgent tea party candidate against Collins, who has establishment roots. Full story
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reserved airtime in Rep. Jim Matheson's district. (Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
The independent expenditure of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved time in the districts of vulnerable Democratic Reps. Jim Matheson (Utah) and John Barrow (Ga.).
The DCCC reserved just less than $400,000 of time from Oct. 16 through Election Day in the Salt Lake City media market, covering Utah’s 4th district. Matheson faces a serious challenge there from Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love (R) in a district that will vote strongly for Republican Mitt Romney in the presidential race.
A recent poll showed Matheson leading. The National Republican Congressional Committee reserved $948,000 in that market. Full story
