DSCC up with ad in Oregon
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is up with a new advertisement in the Oregon Senate race, portraying Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) as a lackey of President Bush.
“The truth is, in Washington, Republican Gordon Smith has voted repeatedly with George Bush to give tax breaks to the wealthy, tax breaks to big oil, and tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas,” a narrator in the ad says.
Smith is in the midst of a highly competitive re-election campaign against state House Speaker Jeff Merkley. The two-term senator aired advertisements against Merkley before he was even nominated – and has more recently tried to associate himself with Barack Obama in one of his ads.
Oregon isn't the only state where the DSCC has plopped down big bucks, though. Advertising Age reports the Senate committee has made buys totalling more than $15 million in North Carolina, New Mexico, Minnesota and Maine, with purchases of more than $5 million each against Sens. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).
That spending comes atop the $53 million in advertising time the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already reserved ahead of the November elections. Of that money, most will go toward attacking Republican-held seats, though a significant portion will be aimed at protecting vulnerable Democratic incumbents.