Democrat-aligned House Majority PAC has placed a massive broadcast television buy against New York Rep. Michael G. Grimm for the final week of the campaign.
The group is spending $1.7 million in support of Democrat Domenic M. Recchia Jr. on New York City broadcast, and the reservation will last until Election Day, according to a spokesman. Combined with a previous cable buy, the super PAC is on track to spend $1.9 million against the legally and politically embattled Republican.
An analysis of ad spending provided by a Democrat monitoring the media market reflects a congressman fighting alone against a Democratic onslaught of advertising in the Staten Island-based 11th District. Republicans essentially abandoned Grimm after he was indicted in April on 20 counts of various fraud and other charges. For every dollar Grimm spent on television, Democratic allies have spent about $7.54. His ad spending this fall was from his campaign alone, totaling about $630,000.
In total, Democrats are spending $4.75 million on the race. That sum includes spending by Recchia, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Service Employees International Union and House Majority PAC.
Still, Grimm has strong name recognition, Staten Island is tolerant of corruption charges, and Recchia has stumbled along the way. The race remains a dead heat, but some New York operatives are beginning to think Grimm might even have a slight edge.
The race is rated Tossup by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.
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