It’s likely to become one of, if not the most, contested Congressional races in the San Joaquin Valley, and Democratic groups are already making moves to protect Rep. TJ Cox (D–Fresno) from the increasingly likely rematch with his predecessor, former Rep. David Valadao (R–Hanford).
House Majority Forward, a dark money group associated with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s super PAC House Majority PAC, placed a $180,000 television ad buy in the Fresno-Visalia television market on Monday.
The group has focused much of its attention on promoting House Democrats and their work relative to health care, recently running a television ad promoting the Democratic majority.
House Majority Forward is a registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which shields its donors from public disclosure. As such, the group is also limited in the amount of advocating it can do on behalf of Federal candidates.
The move by the nonprofit is a sign of just how seriously Washington Democrats are taking a prospective challenge by former Rep. Valadao and opting to boost Cox in the process.
Valadao filed a statement of candidacy for a rematch on July 17 but has yet to make any formal announcement about his intentions of running again.
Just before filing, an internal Republican poll leaked showing Valadao leading Cox by a 52 to 36 percent margin with 11 percent of voters undecided.
