Special Election results

Both Democrats lost big in yesterday’s special elections which really is not all that surprising given that both seats were in Republican strongholds. What is somewhat surprising, however, was the amount of cash the National Republican Congressional Committee dumped into these races, over 120K in Virginia and nearly half a million in Ohio. And this is money that the NRCC can ill afford:

The National Republican Congressional Committee has poured in more than $428,000 — nearly one-fifth of the committee’s entire campaign account — for advertising, direct mail and phone banks within the last week.

When a Party must spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave to retain a seat on its home turf, that Party has problems. Dumping twenty percent of your available cash into ONE race means one thing and only thing only – the movers in the GOP were desperate for a win, so they decided to buy one. Looking on the bright side, that is not a practical strategy with 435 seats up for grabs next year. So while we may not have scored an upset yesterday, things are still looking rosy for next year.