Republicans pull ads in key Senate and House races
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS –
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retreating as they brace for congressional losses, Republicans have canceled television advertising in a key Senate race in Louisiana and scaled back ads in eight competitive House contests.
The moves signal a scramble by Republicans, three weeks before nationwide elections, to hold off a Democratic surge.
Majority Democrats, by contrast, are investing in an expanding list of GOP targets — many in Republican strongholds — even as they move to protect their own marginal members.
In pulling planned advertising in Louisiana, Senate Republicans' campaign committee has essentially abandoned its only chance this year to topple a Democratic incumbent, Sen. Mary Landrieu, who is in a competitive race with John Kennedy, the state treasurer who was heavily recruited to challenge her.
The moves reflect the tough choices cash-strapped Republicans are having to make in the crucial last stage of the campaign, as Democrats threaten to encroach on what was previously considered safe GOP ground.
Senate Democrats' political arm is now targeting Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, and Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss with new ads.
Democrats knowledgeable about the media purchases confirmed the decision, first reported by The Fix, a blog published by The Washington Post.
Republicans have "seen the writing on the wall," said Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Rebecca Fisher, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, declined to comment.
Democrats, who hold a 51-49 Senate majority that includes two independents who caucus with the chamber's 49 Democrats, now have solid leads in five races. They have realistic chances of picking up as many as nine seats and believe they are within reach of their longer-shot goal of capturing a filibuster-proof 60 seats. While Landrieu was their only at-risk incumbent, Republicans have six vulnerable sitting senators, in Alaska, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oregon.
Meanwhile, the GOP's House campaign committee has canceled advertising in Nevada's 3rd district, where third-term Republican Rep. Jon Porter is in a tight race with state Senate minority leader Dina Titus, and in Idaho's 1st, where Rep. Bill Sali leads Democrat Walt Minnick, according to officials.
It's also pared planned ads for candidates in southern Minnesota and central New Mexico who are in close contests with Democrats seeking to replace retiring Republicans.
In addition, the GOP has pulled back in four districts that are home to vulnerable Democrats, including in the Palm Beach, Fla., district of Rep. Tim Mahoney, who's embroiled in a sex-and-hush-money scandal. Also canceled were ads aimed at toppling Democrats Nancy Boyda in Kansas, Don Cazayoux in Louisiana and Nick Lampson in Texas.
A Republican official stressed that the plans could change, particularly after the campaign arm gets back new survey data in the coming days and reassesses its chances in key races. The official would discuss campaign strategy only on condition of anonymity.
At the same time, House Democrats' political committee is targeting Republicans once believed to be safe in ironclad GOP districts, including Reps. John Shadegg of Arizona, Mark Souder of Indiana, Ron Lewis of Kentucky and Lee Terry of Nebraska.
Those were among the 45 districts where the Democratic committee poured close to $8.3 million for "voter communications" — mostly ads — this week, according to reports filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission. That list includes 34 seats held by Republicans, 20 of them incumbents.
Mahoney's race was not on the extensive list of Democratic investments, but several of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents were, including Jerry McNerney of California, Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire and Paul E. Kanjorski of Pennsylvania.
Republicans were advertising in nine districts this week, all but two of them currently in GOP hands. The party committee reported spending about $750,000 on voter communications this week.
Democrats have had an edge in House and Senate races all year, but the advantage has become more pronounced as the international financial meltdown has reshaped the fall campaigns, dragging down GOP presidential nominee John McCain's poll numbers as well as those of Republican congressional candidates.
In the House, Democrats appear likely to add as many as a dozen seats to their 235-199 majority and could pick up twice that number depending on the strength of the emerging surge.
Public polls and strategists indicate Democrats are well-positioned to pick off as many as 10 Republican House incumbents — in Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Washington, among others — and are leading in efforts to shift into the Democratic column more than a third of the 29 seats left open by GOP departures.
In the Senate, 35 seats are being contested — 23 GOP and 12 Democratic. All 435 House seats — including one vacancy — are up for grabs.
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