NM-01: NRCC Cancels Two-Thirds of TV Ad Buy for White

Uh oh. With only about three weeks left before the election, it appears that Darren White is pretty much being abandoned by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in his race for the NM-01 Congressional seat. The NRCC has cancelled two-thirds of its broadcast TV advertising buy for Bush's favorite sheriff -- which translates to a loss of an estimated $500,000 in support from the national GOP. The campaign of Martin Heinrich (above right) weighs in:

"Once again, Darren White gets a vote of no confidence from those closest to him," said Jason Burke, a Heinrich campaign spokesperson. "White's own officers gave him an 89% vote of no confidence, and this time the Republican Party decided that Darren White just can't be trusted to get the job done."

This past August, the NRCC reserved $731,690 in advertising on behalf of Darren White from October 14 to November 4th. The NRCC has now dropped two weeks out of the three-week buy, demonstrating they believe the money could be used more effectively in other races where there's a better chance for victory. And who knows if they'll end up cancelling the third week.

"It's actually kind of sad," Burke said. "After the hundreds of thousands of dollars Darren raised as chairman of George Bush's reelection campaign you'd think his buddy Bush would help bailout his failed campaign."

In contrast, the Democratic Congresssional Campaign Committee (DCCC) recently made a new $175,000 media buy in NM-01 to advocate for Martin Heinrich. Although Martin has been up in recent polling by 2-6 points, there's still much to be done to capture the seat. But a dearth of ads on the Republican side at a time when many voters are just tuning in can only help the Heinrich campaign -- and all of us.