It looks like the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee is giving up on the one Senate seat that the GOP was once thought to have a chance to pick up this year:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has decided to pull its television advertising out of Louisiana, a decision that drastically reduces the party’s chances at its lone takeover opportunity in this election cycle.
The ads, according to buy information obtained by The Fix, will end next Tuesday — two weeks before the Nov. 4 election between Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) and state Treasurer John Kennedy (R).
NRSC communications director Rebecca Fisher offered no comment when asked about the move to pull down the ads.
The decision to stop advertising in the race against Landrieu reflects a recognition by the NRSC of the stark financial reality it faces in the fall campaign. The Republican committee has been consistently outraised by its Democratic counterpart and, as the political environment has worsened for the GOP in recent weeks, several Republican senators that appeared safe — Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) to name two — have suddenly appeared more vulnerable.
Given the recent poll numbers in the Louisiana race, along with fear-inducing polls coming out of states like Minnesota, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, this would seem to be a wise decision. What it means though is that, in the Senate at least, the GOP has moved to a prevent-defense in the hope that the losses they do suffer won’t be as bad as presently feared.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
The Republicans are finally seeing what average Louisianians have been noticing for some time, John Kennedy was a terrible candidate.
First, he switched from being a John Kerry liberal Democrat into a staunch conservative Republican just like Mitt Romney, last year.
Secondly, the numbers of defections among Republican office holders endorsing Landrieu have been so embarrassing that the Louisiana GOP is actually considering an official censure resolution.
Third, Kennedy has been caught flip-flopping even on hurricane recovery aid.
Fourth, Landrieu is actually pretty popular in Louisiana.
Finally, even McCain appears to be weaker than Bush was in 2004 in Louisiana, even against Obama. Plus, Democratic voter registration efforts have been extremely successful.
October 24th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I think that four years of treachory by that muslim as president and the Republicans will own the Senate and House, not to mention the Presidency. Landrieu is only popular in New Orleans, the city of vote scams and multiple voting. Since she is sure to go along with every rotten thing that that muslim traitor wants to do she should be replaced with someone who will try to stop the destruction of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Kennedy may be a flip flopping lump but he is safer than her.