The Congressional Leadership Fund, the well-funded and powerful super PAC arm of House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R–Bakersfield) political operation, announced a sweeping $125 million in ad reservations for the fall to flip control of the House of Representatives.
McCarthy and his allies have plenty of cash rolling in to assist hotbed Central Valley Congressional seats.
The super PAC’s ad reservation spree nationwide already eclipses what the GOP committee spent in 2020, it said in an announcement on Thursday.
So what’s heading to the Valley, per the CLF announcement more than $4.6 million in TV and digital video spending will be directed in the Fresno-Visalia and Bakersfield media markets.
$3 million is earmarked for the new 22nd Congressional District, the south Valley seat that Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford) is seeking to represent moving forward.
An additional $1.6 million is being directed toward the new 13th Congressional District, an open seat that has drawn considerable interest from both House Democrats and Republicans.
The race has attracted veteran Asm. Adam Gray (D–Merced), Valley nursery owner John Duarte (R–Hughson), and teacher David Giglio (R–Madera).
Paydirt for Duarte?
While teh CLF announcement refrains from mentioning candidates that their upcoming ad reservations will support or oppose, especially given that primaries are on the horizon across the country, it’s not a mystery to figure out who the $3 million will benefit in the 22nd Congressional District.
As for the open 13th district, that mystery is becoming clearer.
Amid the announcement of $125 million in spending by CLF, the National Republican Campaign Committee – the principal campaign arm of House Republicans – announced a new slate of candidates in its Young Guns candidate recruitment program.
The sole Republican contender in the 13th district on the list? Duarte.
The announcement spurns Giglio, who spent much of the past 18 months waging a high-priced, self-funded effort to build name identification with voters in Madera and Merced counties.
