Live Updates

Aug 13, 2007

Roll Call - DCCC Targets a Dozen GOP Moderates in Ads

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is on the air in a dozen House districts this week, running radio ads criticizing moderate — and potentially vulnerable — Republican incumbents for continuing to support President Bush’s Iraq War policies.

The targeted incumbents are Reps. Christopher Shays (Conn.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Joe Knollenberg (Mich.), Mike Ferguson (N.J.), Heather Wilson (N.M.), Jon Porter (Nev.), Jim Walsh (N.Y.), Deborah Pryce (Ohio), Phil English (Pa.), Jim Gerlach (Pa.), Tim Murphy (Pa.) and Dave Reichert (Wash.).

The short ads are running on drive-time radio and are being aired right before or after the stations run their traffic and weather reports. The ads are scheduled to run at least until Wednesday.

Gerlach — the only one of the targeted Republicans without a viable challenger already in the race — was quick to hit back, calling the ads hypocritical and “disgusting.”

Noting that he and fellow moderate Republicans had recently offered an amendment to adopt the Iraq Study Group’s proposals for troop withdrawal, which was rejected by House Democratic leaders, Gerlach said, “I can only guess that they needed today’s political ad more than they needed to find a bipartisan solution to Iraq.”