ICYMI: CLF Beefs Up Field Operations In Key Districts
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, the Washington Examiner reported on Congressional Leadership Fund’s (@CLFSuperPAC) increased efforts to defend the House Republican majority this fall. Read excerpts from the article below:
Paul Ryan’s super PAC beefs up field operations in key GOP districts
Washington Examiner
David Drucker
9/17/18
A leading Republican super PAC is deploying more ground troops to key districts as threats to the party’s House majority escalate.
Congressional Leadership Fund, affiliated with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is investing an extra $3 million in 15 vulnerable, Republican-held seats as the midterm elections approach, the group told the Washington Examiner on Monday. The funds are underwriting platoons of paid field staff, with the goal of doubling the voters CLF reaches every week as part of a multi-million dollar voter turnout operation in 40 targeted House districts.
“People should be looking to spend less money on TV ads and more on field — especially when we’re focused on turnout,” Corry Bliss, who runs CLF, said in a telephone interview from California, where House Republicans are defending about a half-dozen seats the Democrats are targeting.
The 15 congressional districts to receive additional, paid field staff, include: California’s 25th, 39th, 45th and 48th; Illinois’ 6th; Kansas 2nd; Kentucky’s 6th; New Jersey’s 3rd and 7th; New York’s 19th and 22nd; Maine’s 2nd; Ohio’s 1st; Pennsylvania’s 1st; and Washington’s 8th. This list could provide clues as to the GOP’s top concerns about holding serve in November.
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Congressional Leadership Fund, forecasting the political headwinds early in the election cycle, built an extensive voter turnout operation to pair with tens of millions in television advertising that hit the airwaves in August. The super PAC credits the early $10 million advertising blitz in 20 districts — launching before Labor Day, the unofficial start of the fall campaign — with keeping preserving the viability of the Republican majority.
To underscore the point, CLF shared internal polling data from four targeted districts to make the case that the group’s advertising is diminishing the Democrats’ prospects for capturing the House:
- In California’s open 39th Congressional District, Democratic nominee Gill Cisneros saw his image plummet from a plus 12 percentage points to a negative 9 points.
- In California’s 25th Congressional District, defended by Republican Rep. Steve Knight, Democratic nominee Katie Hill’s image ratings dropped from a plus 13 points to a plus 1 point.
- In Ohio’s First Congressional District, defended by Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, Democratic nominee Aftab Pureval’s image dropped from plus 9 points to minus 3 points.
- In New York’s 19th Congressional District, defended by Republican Rep. John Faso, Democratic nominee Antonio Delgado saw views of his image sink from plus 19 points to negative 1 point.
“In most of these districts we were the first on TV, setting the terms of engagement and forcing Democratic groups to spend money earlier than wanted and respond to us,” Bliss said.
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