House Majority PAC has canceled a large television reservation in a competitive upstate New York district, the super PAC spokesman confirmed to CQ Roll Call.  

The cancellation could be a sign the Democratic super PAC is throwing in the towel on The Empire State’s 21st District. The television buy, scheduled for Oct. 7 through 20 and totaling $300,000 , is in a district that is considered a top pickup opportunity for Republicans.  

This is a race to replace Democratic Rep. Bill Owens, who is retiring. The race is currently rated Tilts Republican  by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call. The cancellation comes as national Republicans become increasingly bullish about their nominee, former White House aide Elise Stefanik. She picked up New York’s Independence Party nomination this week, and a recent poll showed her leading her opponent by 13 points .  

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee still has more than $400,000 reserved for the last two weeks of the cycle to boost their nominee, filmmaker Aaron Woolf, in the district north of Albany.  

A Democratic insider pointed out the district includes relatively inexpensive media markets, so it would not be too costly for HMP to reinvest in the race later in the cycle.  

“We’ll continue to watch the race and see how it develops,” HMP spokesman Matt Thornton said.  

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