Committees spending big on congressional race
James Tedisco and Scott Murphy aren’t the only ones sparring for the open 20th District congressional seat.
National Republicans and Democrats alike are spending lots of money on ads and paying staffers to push their message and discount the opposition.
“It’s a litmus test for the two parties, more so for the Republicans who want to take the seat back,” said Leonard Cutler, a Siena College political science professor and director of the Center for the Study of Government and Politics. “For the Democrats, quite obviously, they want to reinforce the tide and momentum for Democratic victories here in the state of New York.”
Tedisco’s announcement last week that he was taking control of his campaign and spinning a more positive message about himself highlighted a truth that voters have come to expect from national campaigns — that the parties, not the candidates, often set the agenda.
That’s doubly true in this special election, where the lack of other races means the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee can devote extra time and money to this campaign.
In the last seven days, the DCCC has spent $172,000 on political ads for Murphy and against Tedisco and the NRCC has spent $148,000, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The Republican National Committee said it was giving the New York Republican State Committee $100,000 to spend on the race.
And national political action committees with deep pockets also have paid for ads in the past week.
On the GOP side, the National Republican Trust PAC spent more than $240,000 on media ads opposing Murphy; The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees boosted Tedisco with a $24,000 mailer; and the conservative Sacramento, Calif.-based Our Country Deserves Better bought media ads for Tedisco to the tune of $32,500.
On Murphy’s side, the Service Employees International Union Federal PAC spent $227,000 on mailers and radio ads.
Both parties think they can win the race, but neither is leaving the election to chance.
The race could be very close, according to a recent Siena Research Institute poll that showed Tedisco just 4 percentage points ahead of Murphy.
“This is a region of the country where Republicans have not been successful in recent elections,” said Paul Lindsay, spokesman for the NRCC. “We know the challenges that are out there in a district like this, and that’s why we expect a close contest.”
Meanwhile, Tedisco and Murphy are still sparring over whether the federal economic stimulus package allowed bonuses for American International Group executives at taxpayer expense.
Tedisco has criticized Murphy for supporting the stimulus plan and said the package guaranteed the $165 million in bonuses because the executives had signed a contract before Feb. 11. Tedisco blasted Murphy on the issue again Wednesday, as Tedisco toured the future GlobalFoundries chip plant site in Malta. He questioned whether Murphy had even read the 1,100-page bill.
In response, Murphy noted that the new legislation will prevent executives from padding their own pockets with taxpayer funds in the future.
The funding for the AIG bonuses was approved in last fall’s financial sector bailout, which Murphy opposes, he said.
The Glens Falls businessman continued to voice support for the stimulus plan Wednesday, speaking outside Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park.
Click here to read the full story.