On Saturday, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced that significant sums will be spent on campaign ads. These ad buys will be made with tactical acumen and will be aired in 22 congressional districts that are considered must-win – 13 of which are currently held by Democrats. The NRCC will 45 million dollars for these districts.
The purchase covers 29 media markets, with the majority of NRCC’s investment going toward aggressive flip opportunities. For comparison: 86% of ad reservations recently reported by the DCCC should protect their highly vulnerable Democratic officeholders.
“From day one, the NRCC has committed itself not only to maintaining our majority, but to going on the offensive to expand our majority – today we are making good on our promises,” said NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson. “This initial investment gives our candidates the firepower to remind voters of the Biden-created border, crime and inflation crises that are devastating their daily lives. Extreme Democrats who enabled the chaos and malaise should burnish their resumes – they will soon be out of a job.”
That’s a significant amount, and it’s just the first salvo. As the election gets closer, we can expect more targeted advertising.
In 2020, President Donald Trump won five congressional districts now held by Democrats: Alaska’s at-large seat, currently held by Mary Peltola, Maine’s Second District, held by Jared Golden, Ohio’s Ninth District, held by Marcy Kaptur, Pennsylvania’s Eighth District, held by Matt Cartwright, and Washington’s Third District, held by Marie Perez.
The campaigns will include digital and Spanish-language ads in addition to time-honored media markets and aim to maintain, but expand, the Republican majority in the House. Focusing on these constituencies – particularly those that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 but are now represented by Democrats – is critical. There is, of course, one question the NRCC cannot answer: How long will the Trump/Vance candidacy hold power? That, more than any level of spending, could make the difference in the makeup of the House and Senate in January 2025.
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Back to the NRCC’s efforts, these ads are, as I noted above, tactically placed; here in Alaska, for example, the NRCC is investing over a million dollars in targeted ads in the Anchorage media market, along with $880,000 in Fairbanks and $84,000 in Juneau – in other words, in the state’s major population centers. One such ad is already airing here in the Great Country, where we hope to send Democrat Mary Peltola back to her native Bethel. Note the massive spice of obvious military veterans in the ad; this is appropriate for Alaska, since we have the largest per capita share of war veterans of any state of the Republic.
This was considered.
We’ve all been very focused on the presidential election, and rightly so: it’s about the large issues, it’s an crucial issue, and it’s the exception to the “all politics is local” rule. But unless Republicans can build on their current razor-thin lead in the House and gain a majority in the Senate, the best efforts of a possible (likely) second Trump administration will come to nothing.
