Democrats hold slight edge in ad wars as election nears, report says
Democrats hold slight edge in ad wars as election nears, report says.
By: Bh1ik11
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Democrats hold slight edge in ad wars as election nears, report says - Video
WASHINGTON Democrats high hopes of mitigating House losses in a rough election year have been dashed by reality.
The question now is not whether Republicans hold the House thats a given. Rather, its how many seats could the GOP add to its majority on Election Day? And how close could it get to its post-World War II high of 246 in Harry S. Trumans administration?
Three weeks to Nov. 4, the House outlook remains bright for the GOP as national Democrats bail on once-promising opportunities in Virginia and Colorado, canceling television advertising to shift money to efforts to save vulnerable incumbents in Democrat-leaning states such as California and Illinois. Democrats also are transferring some of the cash to races where they stand a better chance.
Republican-leaning outside groups such as American Crossroads and American Action Network have pumped in millions of dollars targeting Democratic lawmakers.
Democrats cut $2.8 million in spending in northern Virginia, where John Foust faces state Delegate Barbara Comstock in a seat that Republican Frank Wolf has held for 34 years. The party also scaled back its spending in the Denver suburbs by $1.4 million despite its high expectations that former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff could upend three-term Republican Rep. Mike Coffman in a district with a growing Hispanic population.
Democrats have raced to rescue freshman Rep. Ami Bera in the Sacramento, Calif., suburbs as he tries to fend off a challenge from former Republican Rep. Doug Ose, and shore up first-term Rep. Bill Enyart in his southwest Illinois race against state Rep. Mike Bost. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinns struggle in his re-election bid is making life tough for Enyart and another freshman, Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider.
This is a challenging climate, but were not looking at 2010, insisted Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Every Democratic incumbent is either winning or tied and we have solid opportunities to win in Republican-held districts across the country.
Republicans hold a 234-201 edge in the House, counting Eric Cantors onetime Richmond, Va.-area seat which the GOP is expected to win and two vacant Democratic seats, one in New Jersey, the other in North Carolina.
The Republican rout of 2010, marked by tea-party anger toward Obama and the health-care law, cost Democrats 63 seats. Those gains make the universe of competitive races much smaller this election around two dozen.
Democrats have legitimate shots at defeating Republicans Lee Terry in Nebraska and Steve Southerland in Florida while capturing open seats in California, Iowa and Arkansas, according to Republicans and Democrats closely following the campaigns. But two-term Republican Rep. Michael Grimm is still considered a favorite in New York despite his 20-count indictment on federal tax-evasion charges.
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Democrats hopes for U.S. House gains fading fast
As the midterm election nears, Democrats are hanging on to a slim edge in the expensive television ad war for control of the U.S. Senate, according to a new study that says overall ad spending in the races is approaching the $1-billion mark.
Driven by a flood of spending by outside groups, more than 728,000 ads have been shown in Senate races, and an additional 700,000 have aired on behalf of candidates running for governor, the analysis released Tuesday by the Wesleyan Media Project says.
Overall spending on House, Senate and governor campaigns is already more than $917 million. By election day, broadcast stations will have aired more than 2 million political commercials a total thats unlikely to surprise voters in competitive states like Iowa and North Carolina, where the barrage of ads has been unrelenting for months.
In spite of an influx of spending on behalf of Republican candidates, more ads favoring Democrats aired Sept. 26 to Oct. 9 in 10 of the 15 top-spending Senate races, the analysis shows. Thats largely because Republicans are relying more heavily on outside groups to buy the commercials, rather than the candidates themselves, who are entitled to the lowest rates offered by television stations in the last 60 days before an election.
Republicans are not getting as much bang for their buck as Democrats, Michael Franz, the projects co-director, said in the report. He said, though, that the strategy may pay off, because research shows that ads by outside groups may be more effective at swaying voters.
The study confirms the increasing dominance of "super PACs" and other outside groups that accept unlimited contributions. Forty percent of the Senate ads are paid for by outside groups, up from 32% in 2102. The biggest spending group, at $3.8 million, was Crossroads GPS, a conservative nonprofit that doesnt disclose its donors; more than a quarter of ads in that two-week cycle were paid for by so-called dark money groups, the report found.
Many Republican ad buyers are writing checks for another round of bashing the Affordable Care Act, with the volume of ads criticizing the law up by nearly half in House and Senate races in that two-week period. While Democratic themes vary from state to state, GOP-leaning commercials across the country stick closely to themes of Obamacare, deficits and jobs.
If it seems to voters that many of the airwave campaigns are drowning in negativity, the report confirms it. In the Arkansas Senate race, about 69% of ads were negative, the report found, the highest percentage in the country.
On Twitter: @JTanfani
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Democrats hold slight edge in ad wars as election nears, report says
A Barrel of Bad News for Democrats
Panel discusses the barrel of bad news for Democrats and whether the government and CDC are in control of Ebola.
By: CNN
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A Barrel of Bad News for Democrats - Video
VoteMatch Responses (Click here for VoteMatch quiz) VoteMatch Question & Answer (Click on question for explanation and background) Based on these stances: (Click on topic for excerpt & citation) Strongly Favors topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (+5 points on Social scale) Strongly and unequivocally support Roe v. Wade: Strongly Favors topic 1 Invest in stem cell and other medical research: Favors topic 1 Pursue embryonic stem cell research: Favors topic 1 Support right to choose even if mother cannot pay: Strongly Favors topic 1 Put science ahead of ideology in research and policymaking: Favors topic 1 Choice is a fundamental, constitutional right: Strongly Favors topic 1 Strongly Favors topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (-5 points on Economic scale) Enable disability access; plus 100,000 federal jobs: Strongly Favors topic 2 Racial and religious profiling is wrong: Favors topic 2 Support affirmative action to redress discrimination: Strongly Favors topic 2 Police should have zero tolerance of racial profiling: Neutral on topic 2 Democrats lead fight for ERA and equal employment: Strongly Favors topic 2 Strongly Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+5 points on Social scale) Equal treatment under law for same-sex couples: Strongly Favors topic 3 Keep marriage at state level; no federal gay marriage ban: Strongly Favors topic 3 Pass hate crime legislation including gays: Favors topic 3 Strongly Favors topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (-5 points on Social scale) Support fatherhood via faith-based groups: Favors topic 4 Partner with faith-based organizations to serve the needy: Strongly Favors topic 4 Character education is an important aspect of education: Favors topic 4 Harness power of faith-based organizations PLUS govt: Favors topic 4 Strongly Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-5 points on Economic scale) No arbitrary insurer cancelation; yes pre-existing condition: Strongly Favors topic 5 Preserve promise of Medicare; don't privatize or voucherize: Strongly Favors topic 5 Make sure everyone has access to affordable health care: Strongly Favors topic 5 Expand coverage and cut healthcare costs: Favors topic 5 Every American should have affordable health insurance: Strongly Favors topic 5 Add prescription drug benefit to Medicare: Favors topic 5 Opposes topic 6: Privatize Social Security (-3 points on Economic scale) Preserve promise of Social Security; don't privatize: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Protecting the promise of Social Security is absolute: Strongly Favors topic 6 Oppose privatization and oppose raising retirement age: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Strengthen Social Security for Baby Boomers: Opposes topic 6 Strongly Opposes topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (-5 points on Economic scale) OpEd: anti-school choice policy alienates Hispanics: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Turn around struggling public schools; expand public options: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Charter schools OK, vouchers not: Favors topic 7 Democrats are the party of public education: Strongly Opposes topic 7 U.S. needs public school accountability, not vouchers: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Strongly Opposes topic 8: Clean air and water are property rights (-5 points on Social scale) Restore wilderness & watersheds for generations to come: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Reject choice of healthy economy vs. healthy environment: Opposes topic 8 No opinion on topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (0 points on Social scale) Death penalty must not be arbitrary: Favors topic 9 Reduce racial disparities in sentencing for drug crimes: Opposes topic 9 Fight crime with prevention, community police: Opposes topic 9 Tougher punishments, including the death penalty: Strongly Favors topic 9 DNA testing & post-conviction reviews in death penalty cases: Opposes topic 9 Strongly Opposes topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (-5 points on Economic scale) Right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Reauthorize assault weapons ban, close gun show loophole: Opposes topic 10 Strengthen gun control to reduce violence: Strongly Opposes topic 10 Strongly Favors topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (-5 points on Economic scale) Cut taxes for every working family, but not millionaires: Strongly Favors topic 11 Cut taxes for middle class, not the wealthy: Strongly Favors topic 11 G.O.P. creates debt, Dems create surpluses: Neutral on topic 11 Democrats will eliminate publicly held debt by 2012: Favors topic 11 Cut taxes for working families, not richest 1%: Strongly Favors topic 11 Strongly Favors topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (+5 points on Social scale) DREAM Act for now; comprehensive reform next: Strongly Favors topic 12 Path for undocumented aliens to earn citizenship: Favors topic 12 Reform the INS; reduce immigrant backlog: Favors topic 12 Protect immigrants from exploitation by employers: Strongly Favors topic 12 Favors topic 13: Support & expand free trade (+2 points on Economic scale) Double our exports by 2015 with new trade agreements: Strongly Favors topic 13 Create jobs that stay in America: Opposes topic 13 Knock down barriers to free, fair and balanced trade: Opposes topic 13 Free trade with safeguards will benefit all: Favors topic 13 Opposes topic 14: Maintain US sovereignty from UN (-3 points on Economic scale) US leadership at UN, including respectful disagreement: Opposes topic 14 Favors topic 15: Expand the military (-3 points on Social scale) Excessive use of our military breeds more terrorists: Strongly Opposes topic 15 Add 40,000 new soldiers and keep military all-volunteer: Favors topic 15 Equip military for new threats and missions: Strongly Favors topic 15 Encourage military careers with better pay & benefits: Favors topic 15 Prepare military with advanced military and technology: Strongly Favors topic 15 Strongly Favors topic 16: Stricter limits on voting rights (-5 points on Social scale) Curb the influence of lobbyists; no to Citizens United: Strongly Favors topic 16 Your vote should count; no voter ID laws: Favors topic 16 Meaningful campaign finance reform to restore public trust: Strongly Favors topic 16 Support McCain-Feingold bill for campaign finance reform: Favors topic 16 Strongly Favors topic 17: Stay out of Iran (+5 points on Social scale) No US forces in Iraq; no US bases in Iraq: Favors topic 17 Bring our troops home from Afghanistan by 2014: Favors topic 17 New vision for America: strong at home, respected abroad: Favors topic 17 Internationalize Iraqi military and political presence: Favors topic 17 Granting open-ended authority for Iraq war lost '02 election: Favors topic 17 Forward Engagement must guide proactive foreign policy: Strongly Favors topic 17 Work to close gap between richest and poorest nations: Favors topic 17 Commitment to Israel is unshakable: Strongly Favors topic 17 Strongly Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-5 points on Economic scale) Preserve ANWR but explore for oil responsibly elsewhere: Favors topic 18 Transfer billions in oil & gas subsidies to alternative R&D: Strongly Favors topic 18 We cannot drill our way to energy independence: Favors topic 18 Develop renewable energy and efficient vehicles: Favors topic 18 Invest in technology & transportation friendly to earth: Strongly Favors topic 18 Encourage open space and rail travel: Strongly Favors topic 18 We do not have to choose between economy and environment: Favors topic 18 Favors topic 19: Never legalize marijuana (-3 points on Social scale) Join Central American governments to combat narco-traffic: Favors topic 19 Crack down on gangs and drugs: Favors topic 19 Bring to justice those bringing drugs to America: Favors topic 19 Drugs in prison: get clean to get out: Favors topic 19 Dry up drug demand via more enforcement plus more treatment: Favors topic 19 Fight drugs and economic hopelessness that fuels it: Favors topic 19 No opinion on topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (0 points on Economic scale) (No votes on which to base response)
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Democratic Party on the Issues - OnTheIssues.org ...