OH-12: Paul Ryan dumps nearly $2 million to attack Danny O'Connor and "the resistance"
A series of outside groups and committees, viewing the race as one of the last referendums on President Donald Trump before November's midterms, have steadily poured money into the special election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District, ratcheting up the national implications in the race between Democrat Danny O'Connor and Republican Troy Balderson.
The National Republican Congressional Committee increased its spending on television ads by $250,000 on Monday, according to committee sources, reserving ad space for the final two weeks of the campaign. The committee has thus far spent close to $600,000 on the race, according to FEC reports.
The NRCC move comes days after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee dropped $238,000 for 10 days of ads through July 30. The expectation is that the DCCC will buy more airtime to run pro-O'Connor spots through the August 7 election.
The most constant spending in the race has come from the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC backed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, which has spent close to $2 million on ads slamming O'Connor.
And Trump even weighed into the race recently, tweeting his endorsement of Balderson.
"Troy Balderson of Ohio is running for Congress against a Nancy Pelosi Liberal who is WEAK on Crime & Borders," he wrote. "Troy is the total opposite, and loves our Military, Vets & 2nd Amendment. EARLY VOTING just started with Election Day on August 7th. Troy has my Full & Total Endorsement!"
More than $2 million worth of TV ads have been dumped on the district by campaigns and outside spending groups, according to data from the ad-tracking firm CMAG, and those outside groups have combined to spend more than $4 million in total on the special election, per FEC filings.
The uptick in money and attention is the latest sign that both Democrats and Republicans are closely watching the special election as a sign of how each party will fare in November. The congressional district, whose seat was opened when Rep. Pat Tiberi retired, has long been represented by Republicans and in another political environment would likely be out of reach for most Democrats.
What has surprised Democrats most in the race, however, is the fact that Republicans have largely abandoned the pro-tax reform messaging that national operatives called central to their 2018 strategy just months ago.
"There is no positive outcome in November if we do not show that we cut taxes for the middle class and are working to make their lives better. Period," Congressional Leadership Fund executive director Corry Bliss wrote in a memo earlier this year.
That strategy has not played out in the special election, however, where the Ryan-aligned outside group has spent much of its time on air linking O'Connor with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
CMAG has found that taxes are not the top issue on TV, either. According to the group, taxes have been the second most talked about issue on television in the race, behind immigration. But health care is a close third, followed by government spending and social issues.
"The liberal resistance ... want Danny O'Connor's help, bankrolling his campaign. Pelosi and Warren know O'Connor supports amnesty for illegals and O'Connor opposes the border wall," says a narrator in a recent CLF ad. "Danny O'Connor would join the resistance."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/23/politics/ohio-special-election-heats-up/index.html
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