NRSC pledges matching funds for ads in Maine

By Jessica Alaimo, PolitickerME.com Reporter

U.S. Sen. John Ensign, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, pledged today that his committee would match the amount of independent expenditures in advertising made by the National Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The DSCC recently announced a $44.8 million ad buy nationwide, which includes $5 million for the Maine Senate race between incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Bangor, and challenger U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Portland.

In a statement today, Ensign said:

"(Chairman) Chuck Schumer and the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) have recently placed television buys totaling approximately $44.8 million in targeted Senate races across the country. I will not allow our Republican candidates to be outspent by the DSCC this cycle. Therefore, it is my intention to give the NRSC's IE Unit the total budget to match the DSCC dollar for dollar in every state they run ads.

"While I am aware we do not currently have the funds to match the DSCC, I am giving our IE Unit this budget on faith -- faith that my Republican colleagues will step up to the challenge and transfer the funds necessary to remain competitive with the Democrats. I have informed my colleagues that it is now up to them.”

NRSC Communications Director John Randall said that he is not sure how the money will be divided – that is done by an independent arm of the committee that he and Chairman Ensign do not have contact with – however they will attempt to match it as closely state by state as they can.

In addition to the recent $5 million ad buy, the DSCC has given $460,425 to the Maine Democratic State Committee, which funds the Coordinated Campaign.

JESSICA ALAIMO is a PolitickerME.com Reporter and can be reached via email at jessica.alaimo@politickerme.com.

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Comments

They run their campaigns...

posted by Anonymous1

like they run government:

Into deficits and debt.

07/30/08 7:33 pm

Waste of money

posted by Anonymous2

There is no reason to spend 5 million in a campaign where the challenger hasn't done a whole lot of challenging.

The Allen campaign is a complete joke and whoever is running the campaign needs to find a new line of work, politics obviously is not their true calling.

07/30/08 8:12 pm

Because I feel

posted by Anonymous3

that I should continue the trend.

07/31/08 12:16 am

at least

posted by Anonymous4

someone has a sense of humor around here!

07/31/08 12:36 am

i'm picking up

posted by Anonymous5

what you're putting down

07/31/08 1:03 am

The DSCC ad reservation

posted by David Hughes

..and that's what it was, a reserving of the time without actually buying it, can be pulled at any time.

In essence, the DSCC hasn't committed 5 million to Maine, they've just earmarked the time just in case Allen somehow gets it close. Allen doesn't get it close and that 5 million ad buy disappears with very little financial penalty.

07/31/08 1:04 am

Waste of Money

posted by Mike Turcotte

I agree with the above comment. Allen’s campaign is ineffective.

The Democratic Party did such a great job of eliminating Independent Senate Candidate Hoffman campaign that anyone with an altruistic notion of serving in a statewide office will find it disheartening. If you thought party lawyers challenging voters at the polling stations was bad enough, the strict interpretation of this week’s Maine Supreme Court’s decision allows a party operative to challenge any candidate’s campaign signature petition. Indirectly, the decision now creates an unspoken animosity at Allen’s campaign that surely will be heard at the ballot box.

The problem with Allen’s campaign is that it’s hard to run a candidate who doesn’t have a record. Maybe by focusing on Collins’s D.C. beltway campaign donors, her voting record for the funding of the Iraq war and, above all, her lack of two-term integrity will the campaign get some traction in the polls. Running these fluffy, well photographed, campaign commercials is an insult to any voter who is trying to make ends meet in this economy. To paraphrase a commercial, “even though you may not be able to afford heat this winter, we want you to feel warm and fuzzy when stepping in from the cold to vote this November”.

Speaking of heat and tough Maine winters, LIHEAP funding is a maintenance issue or a “no-brainer” for any senator worth their weight in tar sand. Blocking the closure vote and allowing the Republican from Oklahoma to continue his filibuster on funding because of off-shore drilling vote reveals Collins’s choice of benefactor over constituent. According to his website, Tom Allen also thinks offshore oil drilling is going to be the cure all to our current situation. Why his campaign manager decided that he should support such a republican, special interest policy instead of advocating for the renewal and expansion of alternative energy tax credits is beyond me. Anyway, industry experts agree that it will take almost 10 years before the arrival of oil to Maine from these newly drilled fields, by that time Senator Collins may well be on her fourth term.

The Republican Senate Re-election Committee announced this week that they will match Collins’s existing campaign funds. With the doubling of Collins’s $5 million war chest, the best thing the Allen campaign can hope for now is John McCain tapping her for Vice-President.

07/31/08 3:14 pm