If Darren White is going to win the 1st Congressional District race, it appears that he’s going to have to do it without much help from national Republicans.
In an article headlined “GOP ditches recruits to save incumbents,” The Politico takes a look today at how national Republican woes are affecting White’s battle against Democrat Martin Heinrich.
The early excitement about the prospect of White replacing Heather Wilson in Congress has been sacrificed, The Politico article states.
“Darren White and Erik Paulsen were prized Republican recruits, House candidates poised to be the new face of the GOP on Capitol Hill,” the article states. “But as the two head into the homestretch of their campaigns, GOP operatives say they’ll probably have to win — or lose — on their own. The money national Republicans earmarked for White in
“GOP Reps. John B. Shadegg of Arizona, Lee Terry of Nebraska, Henry Brown Jr. of South Carolina and Dan Lungren of California are all fighting for their political lives, a reversal of fortunes that has caught even the most astute campaign observers by surprise,” the article states.
The news isn’t all bad for White. The cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) recently cancelled two-thirds of its planned television ad buy in White’s district, which amounted to about $500,000. But Freedom’s Watch has spent just under $500,000 on television ads attacking Heinrich and could spend more. And, this week, the state GOP is out with its own ad attacking Heinrich.
Still, White faces a difficult road ahead. He’s trailing slightly in the polls. Heinrich has announced that he raised $750,000 during the third quarter of the year, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is spending big on top of that to help him.
White’s woes are a symptom of national problems for the GOP. According to The Politico, at the end of August the DCCC had $54 million in cash to the NRCC’s $14.3 million. While the DCCC has spent money in 34 districts currently held by Republicans, the NRCC has spent money in only 13 districts, and 10 of them are districts it is trying to defend.