The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has reserved nearly $30 million worth of fall TV airtime in 26 competitive congressional districts nationwide, including four in California.
The four California districts include three in which the NRCC will look to help Republican contenders unseat incumbent Democrats, and one in which it will try to save a vulnerable Republican from losing his seat to a strong Democratic challenger.
On the “offense” side, in California’s 7th district, the NRCC will spend $960,000 to help Republican Doug Ose in his effort to unseat freshman incumbent Ami Bera. Ose, considered an “establishment candidate,” won the primary over the Tea Party-backed Igor Birman in June.
In the 36th, the NRCC looks to help State Assemblyman Brian Nestande beat incumbent Democrat Raul Ruiz by spending about $500,000 on Palm Springs broadcast television ads.
The NRCC is also spending $1.7 million on broadcast TV ad buys in the heavily-saturated San Diego market, where Republican challenger Carl DeMaio will take on incumbent Democrat Scott Peters in the 52nd congressional district. A San Diego Union-Tribune poll taken this week found DeMaio inching ahead of Peters, with a 51-44 lead.
On the “defense” side, the NRCC will spend $1,025,000 on both broadcast and cable ads in just one district; the Fresno/Bakersfield 21st, where incumbent Republican David Valadao faces stiff competition from Democrat Amanda Renteria. Valadao cruised to victory in the primary over both Renteria and John S. Hernandez, but he’ll face a much tougher fight in a one-on-one matchup with Renteria in November.
In a statement to Breitbart News, NRCC Digital Press Secretary Andrew Clark explained the heavy media buying in one of the bluest states in the country.
“The fallout from ObamaCare and President Obama’s failing leadership has put Democratic seats in California in play in November, threatening to end the careers of vulnerable House Democrats like Rep. Scott Peters, Rep. Ami Bera, and Rep. Raul Ruiz. As the Democrats’ record continues to deteriorate, we’ll be adjusting and expanding accordingly to meet our goal of winning 245 House seats this cycle.”
Notably, the NRCC has not yet committed any money to Republican candidate Elan Carr in California’s 33rd district race. Carr is thought to be a long-shot candidate in the race to succeed iconic Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman, where he faces tough competition from Democratic State Sen. Ted Lieu.
Still, with plenty of time left until the November 4 general election, this is not the last media buying news we will hear this cycle.
View the list of all 26 congressional district TV buys here.
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