The National Republican Senatorial Committee will launch ads in the West Virginia Senate race today, a seven-figure expenditure that strongly suggests the party thinks they can pull off an upset in the Mountain State.
The commercial goes directly at Gov. Joe Manchin (D) -- arguing that the governor "supports Barack Obama's big government agenda" on big ticket items like the economic stimulus package and the health care law.
"Big spending, more government and less freedom...we don't want a rubber stamp for Obama," says the ad's narrator. "We can't afford Joe Manchin in Washington."
The ad will cost the NRSC roughly $1.2 million and will run statewide -- including in the pricey Washington, D.C. media market -- for two weeks, according to sources familiar with the buy.
Republicans have been hinting for the last several weeks that the race between Manchin, a popular second term governor, and wealthy businessman John Raese was surprisingly competitive.
A PPP poll, which conducts its survey using automated rather than live callers, released earlier this week put Raese at 46 percent to 43 percent for Manchin. And, Democrats acknowledge privately that the deep unpopularity of President Obama as well as his major policy initiatives like health care were making it a tougher than expected race for Manchin.
That the NRSC is willing to put its money where its mouth is puts Senate Democrats in an interesting spot. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has a number of endangered incumbents they need to protect in places like Colorado, Wisconsin, California and Nevada -- but also can't afford to ignore a seat like West Virginia where they have a top-tier candidate in a winnable race.
Does the DSCC respond with ads hitting Raese? Or let Manchin handle it on his own?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbElTuHnM2Mhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/senate-republican-launch-ad-in.html
