GOP Getting Monetary Boost for House Races
Advocacy group American Action Network and super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund are putting $13.5 million into an effort to boost Republican House candidates.
Both groups are chaired by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman. Some GOP officials had grown worried after Republican groups outspent their Democratic counterparts by only $5 million ($36 million to $31 million) in the third quarter, Politico reports. So the new cash infusion should remedy that.
“I think [House Speaker] John Boehner and [National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman] Pete Sessions are having a better week than [House Minority Leader] Nancy Pelosi and [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman] Steve Israel, and it’s only Monday,” said Brian Walsh, president of the American Action Network.
The new money will go to television and Internet ads in more than a dozen races, backing up the NRCC.
The groups hope to boost vulnerable incumbents, such as Minnesota Rep. Chip Cravaack, Florida. Rep. Daniel Webster, and California Rep. Jeff Denham. And they hope to bring down Democratic incumbents like New York Rep. Kathy Hochul and California Rep. Lois Capps.
PACS can have an outsized impact on House and local races, as a little money goes a long way there. Republican PACs are particularly strong in Florida. The Palm Beach Post recently profiled Nancy Watkins, a Tampa accountant who oversees several GOP PACs, including Florida Conservative Majority, Florida Leadership Fund, Florida First, New Jobs and Revenues for Florida, and Foundation for Conservative Values.