The Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC (HMP) has canceled ad reservations that were slated to help Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Delran), Politico is reporting, a sign that Democrats are confident Conaway will be able to hold the 3rd congressional district seat left open by Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).
According to Politico’s Ally Mutnick, HMP had reserved $1.5 million for pro-Conaway ads in the Philadelphia media market earlier this year, when it was not yet clear whether the 3rd district race would become competitive and when Democratic poll numbers were in far worse shape under then-nominee Joe Biden. (It behooves PACs to make ad reservations early, since they get better rates.)
But with Republican challenger Rajesh Mohan failing to keep pace with Conaway financially – he raised just $74,000 last quarter to Conaway’s $385,000 – the HMP evidently no longer sees a need to spend money on the race. The district was one of several Democratic-held seats cited in the Politico report where Democrats now feel secure enough to shift money elsewhere.
The 3rd district was once highly competitive, but under current lines it leans clearly towards Democrats, voting for Biden in 2020 by 14 percentage points. While Kim’s decision this year to forego re-election in favor of a Senate campaign provided Republicans with a longshot opportunity to flip the seat, none of the party’s top recruits stepped up to run, and the race has seemingly fallen off the playing field.
One seat that has not fallen off the playing field, however, is New Jersey’s 7th district, where Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) is fighting for a second term against Democrat Sue Altman. Altman has outraised Kean in recent fundraising quarters, and got the news yesterday that HMP will be spending $4 million to support her in the final two weeks of the race; Kean has already benefited from around $3 million in GOP super PAC spending, with more likely to come.