Kathy Boockvar will have a lot less help in her challenge to Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks). The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has cancelled almost $600K in television ads that would have boosted her in the second-to-last week of the campaign.
The DCCC had reserved $585,000 to boost Boockvar in the 8th district, Dems’ top pickup opportunity in Pa., from Oct. 23 to 30. But according to media buying sources (one Democrat, one Republican), that’s been cancelled. The committee made identical moves in neighboring New Jersey’s 3rd district.
Update: the GOP source – confirmed by Aaron Blake of the Washington Post – says that the National Republican Congressional Committee also pulled its corresponding ad buy of about $400,000.
“Since the DCCC is abandoning Kathy Boockvar, we’re moving our resources for that week elsewhere,” said the NRCC source.
DCCC spokesman Jesse Ferguson said the committee was confident in Boockvar.
“With President Obama running strong in the Philadelphia suburbs and the NRCC following Mitt Romney and cutting out, we are confident that our strong Democratic challengers in the area will be able to capitalize on their opponents’ toxic records,” he said.
In the final stretches of a campaign, committees on both sides must decide where their money will go the furthest (see this article in Roll Call). Philly is the fourth most expensive market in the nation, meaning challengers like Boockvar have a hard case to make for national resources.
“Tough decisions have to be made this time of year. It looks like they’ve made theirs,” said the GOP source.
To date, the DCCC hasn’t spent a dime in the expensive Philadelphia media market, which includes the districts of Reps. Jim Gerlach and Pat Meehan, supposedly also top targets for the Dems.
The committee still has $722,000 scheduled for PA-8 in the final week of the campaign… for now.
23 Responses
Republicans would have a more thoughtful candidate if they elected a doorstop. Fitzpatrick is a pawn to special interests, and an unintelligent weasel who is afraid to appear in public lest people see that he can’t string two sentences together.
You may be watching and voting. Too bad no one is paying for your fringe candidate any more.
Women for Kathy and Obama! Fitz is not a man to represent women of Bucks County. Shame on Fitz and immoral bills against women. We are Watching, and We are Voting.
“Hiding behind the tea party” means Fitzpatrick has closeted himself away from the public eye and does not have the courage to debate with his opponent in a public forum. His voting record is obviously in alignment with the sociopaths in the Republican right. His public appearances are only to his supporters; even his “town hall” phone calls are rigged to allow comments only from his supporters.
I find it fascinating liberals think calling Fitzpatrick a tea party nut is even remotely factual. If I remember correctly, the tea party groups have been cool to Fitzpatrick at best.
Hiding behind the tea party? What does that even mean?
Those words are for all intents and purposes are toxic in any moderate district. To suggest someone is using as is a defense just shows how I’ll-informed you are and that you completely lack the necessary understanding of campaigns.
This is a mistake. It is up to the people in a grassroots campaign going door to door to win this for her. Fitzpatrick is hiding behind his record and the Tea Party. He won’t allow an recording of his appearances unless his advance team approves it. He won’t debate Boockvar. He is a coward. He has NRCC paid videographers taping every Boockvar appearance but won’t allow the same at Fitzpatrick appearances. This is not an even playing field. Either you play to win or don’t even have a “Red to Blue” campaign. We out number the Republicans in Bucks County by 18,000 voters. What is wrong with Democrats? Why don’t they show up and be Democrats? We have to disprove the null hypothesis of Will Rogers, “I don’t belong to any organized political party, I am a registered Democrats.” GOTV! is the only way to go.
The party of a challenger who is winning NEVER pulls advertising.
Democrats are pulling back and having to defend their own seats. The tide has turned.
Elaine,
Hate to break it to you, but the only reason the DCCC pulls money out is when they start seeing the numbers in a race not turning the way they expected when they made it Red to Blue. You clearly fell for their spin of the situation. And this is coming from a campaign operative.
I am neither radical or ludicrous, and a strong supporter of Kathy Boockvar. She’s a tremendous, smart candidate- who won’t miss her own swearing in ceremony, like her opponent did- and is raising plenty of money on her own. They pulled out because she’s already seen as a winner, not because they’ve ‘given up’ on her.
I’m sure Ms. Boockvar is a very nice and welcoming woman. However, her views are pretty much not in line with the rest of Bucks County (nor the country as a whole) and her supporters are generally nut jobs.
As much as I’ve actively pushed for Mr. Fitzpatrick on this website, it’s been largely to spite her radical and ludicrous supporters. The same supporters who will only be happy when Nancy Pelosi represents Bucks County in the House Of Representatives.
I have met Kathy on many occasions and she is a proven candidate, this is most upsetting that this happened. She does not deserve this.
Boockvar. What a joke. She’s worse than Patrick Murphy … well, let me take that back, at least Murphy won an election, unlike this annual loser on Election Day. Dems should have gone with Det Ansinn or almost anyone else. Fitz by 10.
Based on the doors I have knocked, Obama voters I personally know and just yard signs, I would say Romney stands an excellent chance in PA-8. As Bucks goes so will PA…The only wild card is the outright fraud in Philly.
Why resort to name calling? Oh right, because you have nothing else, like facts.
Are you even paying attention? In case you haven’t noticed Santorum is not even running. Based on Boockvar’s LACK of campaigning she doesn’t even think she has a chance. The DCCC is not pouring dollars down the drain on a candidate about to loose her third straight political race
Wait, Boockvar had 600K yanked from her campaign and raised 520K but doesn’t want to talk about how much cash on hand she has.
She is broke, her campaign is broke, and i can’t wait to see how much che lent herself.
“Wishful thinking?” Honey, it’s game over. The cavalry has left. The money is gone. The party has given up. You think they do that on a whim? No, they have determined she HAS NO CHANCE.
With all due sarcasm, this simply can’t be. Politics PA has said this is the Democrats’ best pickup chance in the state since the beginning.
LOL, wishful thinking, you guys. Kathy Bookvar is a strong candidate, and folks around here don’t like being embarrassed by Neanderthals like Fitzpatrick, Smith, Santorum, et al. This is NOT Tea Party country.
Game over
Perhaps Boockvar and Patrick Murphy can form a partnership and open some type of business. Both have proven to be unacceptable as political candidates.
I doubt Romney will win the district, but it could be close. As for Fitzpatrick he was never really in danger. The radical left wing Boockvar never stood a chance.
LOL!!! Kathy was never a serious candidate. Fitz’s internals look wonderful. DCCC has same #’s apparantly. Romney will win the district with 54% of vote.