Senate Democrats’ campaign committee today began canceling plans for television ads in Louisiana’s major markets to help Sen. Mary Landrieu’s runoff campaign against Republican Bill Cassidy, making her re-election bid an even steeper challenge.
The Associated Press reports the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee initially had reserved $1.8 million in television advertising for after Tuesday’s first round of voting. But today, the DSCC dumped the bookings in the state’s big cities, including Baton Rouge. A spokesman for the debt-laden committee says officials still back Landrieu, who has twice before prevailed during runoff elections, and would keep an eye on the race.
“Mary Landrieu is a proven runoff winner and we support her 100%,” DSCC spokesman Justin Barasky says. “We are going to make ongoing determinations on how best to invest in the race.”
Tuesday’s midterm elections swept Republicans into a Senate majority for the first time since 2006. That takes away Landrieu’s chairmanship of the vaunted energy committee and undermines her main argument for re-election—clout—as she and Cassidy head into a new round. The Senate Republicans’ campaign arm booked $2.8 million in ads weeks ago. The early booking gave Republicans discounted rates on airtime. Landrieu refused to book post-Nov. 4 airtime, and she now faces higher costs to get on the air for her month-long runoff.
A meaningful advertising buy in Louisiana needs at least $500,000 a week behind it, campaign buyers say. As of Oct. 15, Cassidy had $3.1 million banked to Landrieu’s $1.6 million, according to campaign finance reports. Read the full story.
