The DCCC’s austerity program

House Democrats are doing something completely unprecedented for their party: they are cutting spending.

As the Washington Post notes, the DCCC has yet to release its fundraising totals following the NRCC’s announcement yesterday that we raised a record $12.4 million for the month of September.

Having invested over $20 million in House races in September alone, our committee still has $29.5 million on hand to hold House Democrat candidates accountable in the remaining weeks of this campaign.

The DCCC, meanwhile, is significantly scaling back its TV reservations in several major markets throughout the country.  (See story below from Roll Call)

Does the DCCC have an adequate amount of cash on hand for the next 27 days, or have they have completely outsourced their spending to labor groups and Democrat SuperPACs?

DCCC Cancels Three Big City Buys: Philly, Boston and Chicago
By Shira Toeplitz
Roll Call
October 10, 2012
http://atr.rollcall.com/dccc-cancels-three-big-city-buys-philly-boston-and-chicago/

House Democrats cut more than $1 million in television time in the Philadelphia market today in addition to eliminating major reservations in Boston and Chicago, according to a Democrat who tracks media buys.

The Philadelphia cancellation for Oct. 25-29 isn’t good news for two Democratic challengers running in districts covered by that pricey television market: Pennsylvania’s 8th district and New Jersey’s 3rd district.

The elimination comes just a week after the National Republican Congressional Committee cut its big buy in the Philadelphia market, too. It’s a sign these House races aren’t as competitive as party officials anticipate (Roll Call rates both as Leans Republican).

…

Also today, the DCCC cut back its reservations in two other expensive markets, Chicago and Boston, from Oct. 23-29, according to a Democrat who tracks media buys. In Chicago, the DCCC canceled its buys after a Democratic super PAC came in. It was unclear what the DCCC’s strategy was behind its reservation reduction in Boston.

In the Boston market, the DCCC trimmed $650,000 from the city’s broadcast reservations. The committee kept $700,000 worth of advertisements during that time for other targeted races. That market includes Rep. John Tierney’s (D-Mass.) re-election, as well as two competitive House races in nearby New Hampshire.

Finally, the DCCC trimmed $740,000 from its broadcast reservations in the Chicago market, which covers at least two competitive House races. That leaves the committee with about $297,000 in airtime reservations that week, according to the source.

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