NRCC Reserves Ad Time for Vulnerable Members
May 2, 2016 · 9:39 AM EDT
Election Day is more than six months away, but the fight for the House is well underway as national Republicans start to reserve ad time to defend some of their most vulnerable districts.
According to two sources following House races, the National Republican Congressional Committee recently reserved time for television ads from Sept. 30 through Election Day (Nov. 8) in four media markets: Denver, Miami, Des Moines and Las Vegas. The size of the reservation is still unclear.
The ad time isn’t earmarked for specific seats, but is likely to help defend some of the GOP's most vulnerable House incumbents including Mike Coffman (Colorado’s 6th), Carlos Curbelo (Florida’s 26th), David Young (Iowa’s 3rd), Cresent Hardy (Nevada’s 4th), and Joe Heck’s open seat (Nevada’s 3rd).
According to a House GOP strategist, this looks like an initial reservation because rates were spiking in key markets, and larger ad reservations will come later.
House Majority PAC, the umbrella organization for Democratic outside groups interested in House races, has already reserved $13.6 million worth of ads in 15 media markets, including the latest reservations in Wisconsin and Iowa.
Ad reservations are just one way that candidates and campaign committees communicate with outside groups to avoid costly duplication of resources and running afoul of campaign finance laws.