National GOP money funds attack ad on Lamb; Democrats expected to formulate response
National Republicans are plunking down another milliondollar ad buy in the southwestern Pennsylvania TV market, the latest sign that the GOP isn’t taking anything for granted in a special election being held in the 18th Congressional District.
And while national Democratic groups expect to make at least a modest counteroffensive starting next week, by the time the election rolls around on March 13, voters may be half-expecting to see the name of Nancy Pelosi on the ballot.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a political committee tied to Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, is spending at least $1.5 million to air the spot. The 30-second ad seeks to link the Democrat
in the race, Conor Lamb, to Ms. Pelosi, a former House speaker who leads Democrats in the chamber.
“His name is Conor Lamb,” the ad begins, “but in Washington, he’d be one of Nancy Pelosi’s sheep.”
“Lamb would join the liberal flock,” it continues, driving home the point that “lamb” is indeed a word that means “young sheep.”
The spot represents a new front by the CLF. The group previously opened two offices to canvas for the Republican in the race, state Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth.
Efforts to link Democrats to Ms. Pelosi are nothing new. They were a staple of a special election in Georgia last year, and earlier this week the CLF released polling suggesting that Ms. Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, is hugely unpopular.
But Democrats say Mr. Ryan is himself scarcely more beloved by voters. And Mr. Lamb is using the CLF spot as a fundraising tool of his own, suggesting that it was Mr. Saccone who would ultimately follow his party’s marching orders. “Paul Ryan’s super PAC just dropped $1.7 million on attack ads calling Conor a ‘sheep,’” the campaign observed in a tweet. “Conor may be a Lamb, but he’s the only real leader in this race.”
Mr. Lamb has distanced himself from Ms. Pelosi, and much of the delegation she leads, repeatedly.
His campaign previously told the Post-Gazette that he would have voted in favor of a Republican bill that would have prevented a brief government shutdown last week — a bill opposed by all but six House Democrats.
He also has previously said that he thought Ms. Pelosi should step down as the leader of House Democrats because both parties needed new leadership.
And his own advertising has stressed a disdain for the gridlock between the two parties.
Even so, Mr. Lamb is posed to get some national help of his own: The Post-Gazette confirmed Thursday evening that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which seeks to aid Democratic House candidates, would spent $69,000 on a TV ad buy between Jan. 30 and Feb. 12. That amount rose to $224,000 the next day, the McClatchy news service reported on Friday.
The content of that ad was not yet clear, though observers expect it to be a negative spot to counter the national attacks on Mr. Lamb.
The DCCC’s buy is just a fraction of the money already being spent by Republican sources.
To date, the Lamb campaign’s own spots have been upbeat ads introducing the candidate to voters.
Mr. Saccone’s campaign has yet to launch its own advertising: All of its spots have been paid for by national groups.
The DCCC’s small investment likely represents a testing of the waters, which may or may not be followed up with further ads. (National Democrats may also be keeping a hand in should a redistricting ordered by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court produce a more Dem-friendly district map for the spring primary.) But Republicans were quick to tag the ads as proof that, whatever his public statements, Mr. Lamb is beholden to Ms. Pelosi.
“Nancy Pelosi is rushing to the airwaves to save Conor Lamb in PA-18,” said a Thursday evening statement from the National Republican Campaign Committee, the DCCC’s counterpart. By Friday morning, the NRCC was preparing an ad buy of its own, for $300,000 to begin airing next week.
“This development proves a point we’ve made all along: Conor Lamb is Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked candidate.”