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Meehan Cancels Broadcast TV Buy (Watch Video)

Another blow for Philadelphia broadcast networks.

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Delaware) has cancelled about $500,000 that had been slated for television ads from Oct. 22 through election day.

“We didn’t believe it was necessary,” said John Elizandro, Meehan’s Political Director. “We believe we’re in strong position heading into election day.”

Numerous candidates and committees, from the presidential campaign down to the congressional races, have taken a pass on Philadelphia TV this cycle.

The campaign will continue its advertising plans on cable, which began Monday with the ad above.

Meehan, a freshman Republican, is facing Democratic attorney George Badey. Badey has not yet gone on television; his campaign sent a fundraising email to supporters Thursday asking for contributions to do so.

Pa.’s 7th district was once considered one of the most feasible pickup opportunities for Democrats because it is the former seat of Democrat Joe Sestak, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2010 rather than re-election to Congress. But a combination of redistricting and delays over candidate recruitment yielded a slow start against Meehan, a well-known and well-liked former District Attorney.

In Washington, Meehan has emerged as a rising party leader; his prolific fundraising shows it. He’s brought in $2.4 million so far this cycle, more than any other Republican in Pa. His $1.44 million on hand is also the best of any Pa. Republican. And with this decision to cancel ad spending, he’ll be able to bank that money for the 2014 cycle.

The ad above was created by Chris Mottola and if it seems familiar, that’s because it is. Mottola’s testimonial-style ads are a trademark that many might remember from his work on the campaigns of Arlen Specter.

More than sharing a media consultant, Meehan actually worked Specter as a special counsel in the 1990s. He was one of the pallbearers at the late Senator’s memorial service on Tuesday.

“Pat Meehan gets it. He understands the need for good, American manufacturing jobs and that’s what he’s working for,” says Dominic Pino of Geobelwood Industries. “Pat understands small business.”

Badey called the ad misleading.

“Pat Meehan’s whole campaign is about trying to trick voters into thinking he’s a moderate. He’s not. When it really matters, Pat Meehan votes with the radical right wing of his party,” Badey said. “Two years ago he promised voters he would never vote to privatize Medicare, but then he broke that promise – twice. Breaking promises and ending Medicare as we know it are not the hallmarks of a moderate. His ad? Just another distraction from his actual voting record.”

6 Responses

  1. So, because Badey is such a terrible candidate, Pat Meehan gets to keep his war chest for the next round? Thanks Democrats! Next time choose a puppet who knows more phrases than “he voted to end Medicare as we know it”

  2. Ryan-
    No doubt is a tough district due to the redraw. It’s questionable if even Sestak could have taken back the seat from Meehan, though a Presidential turnout year would be the best shot.

    However, back in Nov/Dec 2011, all the potential candidates being recruited said that they couldn’t raise a dime because all the donors wanted to wait in case Sestak ran. At least one of these potential candidates called Sestak and asked him point blank. Sestak refused to give an answer or give the go-ahead.

    My point is that since Sestak had NO INTENTION of running, he should have made it known months sooner, to give any other candidates time to raise money or explore a candidacy. It was another example Joe’s sabotage of the Democratic party.

  3. Yet another story on the Allison Schwartz portfolio of abysmal candidate recruits for PA congressional races – all have been epic failures! Maybe now the DCCC understands what every Dem politico in PA already knew: Allison Schwartz couldn’t deliver a pizza let alone a congressional win.

  4. David Diano needs to tone it down. No Democrat was going to win that district. It shed essentially every hard Democratic area and gained extremely Republican areas. The Republican floor in the new PA-7 almost 50% barring a Republican implosion.

  5. The “delay over candidate recruitment” was because Sestak’s a total pr*ck. He had decided months before that he wasn’t running for the seat, yet REFUSED to make an official statement that would allow viable candidates to begin raising interest and money early.

    There are ONLY TWO explanations for this behavior:
    1) He wanted to see how redistricting played out.
    2) He wanted to weaken/sabotage any other candidates for the seat so he could play “king of the hill” for local Dems, as the only guy who could win the seat, if he wanted.

    In an Oct 2011, when asked about future plans, Sestak said he wouldn’t be making any decisions for at least 5 months (which would have been Mar 2012, a month after petitions had ended).

    I do fault any Dems who waited for Sestak’s announcement/blessing as total political p*ssies. They should have filed in December, and just declared their understanding that Sestak wasn’t running because he hadn’t filed. Or they could have just said that Sestak lived in Virginia and not in the district.

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