The National Republican Congressional Committee has dropped more than a quarter of a million dollars into the May 18 special election for the seat of the late Rep. John Murtha (D).

The NRCC spent $273,000 on two weeks’ worth of broadcast television time for a spot that targets Mark Critz (D) for “putting the liberal agenda before Pennsylvania” with the recently passed health care legislation.

Critz’s campaign responded to the advertisement by calling it a “smear” attack.

The size of the buy indicates that House Republicans believe they have a good shot at the seat. After losing two high-profile special election contests in 2009, money is a valuable and scarce resource for the NRCC. The committee has less than a third of the bank account of its Democratic counterpart, with $6.1 million reported on hand at the end of February.

The GOP nominee is businessman Tim Burns.