DCCC

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is continuing its general election advertising and mail effort, over the weekend reporting expenditures in key districts in New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Alaska and Pennsylvania.

The committee purchased $80,000 in advertising time to defend U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke), who is trying to fend off a stiff challenge from Republican Lou Barletta. The DCCC has now spent about $260,000 on Kanjorski’s behalf, more than any other district in the country.

The committee began airing its first television advertising of the cycle in Kanjorski’s Scranton-area district in mid-July.

This weekend’s investments provide a window into the offense-minded posture congressional Democrats are taking this cycle. Of the six districts where the DCCC announced new investments, only one is currently held by a Democrat.

Kanjorski defeated Barletta in 2002, when the mayor of Hazelton first challenged the Democratic lawmaker, who has served 12 terms in Congress.

When the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a television advertisement in mid-July targeting Republican congressional candidate Lou Barletta, it was a decision many saw as an ominous sign for the longtime Democratic incumbent who was the object of Barletta's challenge.

Twelve-term U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) hasn’t usually had to worry about re-election. But this cycle, Kanjorski is widely seen as vulnerable. The Democrat is facing questions about the more than $10 million in earmarks he has reserved for a tech firm that is owned by his relatives. He has also been criticized for saying in August 2007 that his party overpromised prior to the 2006 midterm elections that his party could end the war in Iraq.

That the DCCC would go to bat for Kanjorski, for many, was affirmation that Kanjorski is in trouble. Last week, citing the ad, the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report downgraded Kanjorski’s race to the “Toss Up/Tilt Democratic” category.

U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach: Campaign photoWASHINGTON - In 2004, U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Upper Uwchlan Township) campaigned with George W. Bush in a difficult re-election race for his 6th Congressional District seat.

In the end, Bush lost the district to John Kerry (D-Mass.) by almost 11,000 votes. But Gerlach would go on to defeat his Democratic opponent, attorney Lois Murphy, by a more-than 6,000 vote margin. By the time the dust settled, Murphy had spent almost $2 million, accusing Gerlach of misleading of fiscal issues and tying the incumbent to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas).

Two years later, Murphy was back for a rematch. In a favorable Democratic environment, Murphy doubled her expenditures and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and liberal-aligned women’s group EMILY’s List engaged. Democrats would go on to win 31 seats and the House majority in 2006, but Gerlach proved hard to beat. The Republican dispatched of Murphy by a margin of more than 3,000 votes.