NEW YORK--Sensing an upset in the special election to succeed disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., national Republicans have been quietly boosting GOP nominee Bob Turner, both with late infusions of cash and boots on the ground this weekend.
The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee has sent Turner's campaign an additional $20,000 in coordinated funds on the eve of Tuesday's vote, helping add to the former cable TV executive's coffers as he's being vastly outspent by Democrat David Weprin and his Democratic allies.
The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee has sent Turner's campaign an additional $20,000 in coordinated funds on the eve of Tuesday's vote, helping add to the former cable TV executive's coffers as he's being vastly outspent by Democrat David Weprin and his Democratic allies.
The NRCC and the Republican National Committee, along with the Ohio and Michigan state parties, have also been transferring funds to the Empire State GOP, helping the New York state party with direct mail and its "Phone from Home" program.
This weekend, the NRCC and the RNC will also have several staffers on the ground in the Queens and Brooklyn-based district helping Turner's campaign. The Pennsylvania Republican Party is sending volunteers to help in the final days as well.
More overt help from the national GOP in this liberal district could have had a negative effect. Frustration with Washington, and with President Obama in particular, is fueling the potential upset - explaining why national Republicans may have been hesitant to pour lump sums of independent expenditures into the race even as Turner's momentum continued to rise.
The NRCC has sent out fundraising pleas to its email list this week on Turner's behalf, and GOP leadership has also stepped up their individual giving. Both the NRCC and the RNC have now donated the maximum $5,000. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, gave $2,000 while his Freedom Project PAC gave another $5,000, and both Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions's PAC each gave $5,000. While the GOP campaign arm made calls earlier this week inquiring about TV time, the NRCC doesn't appear poised to go up on the expensive New York City airwaves - and with only two actual campaign days left until the September 13 vote, it couldn't make much of an impact. Both candidates will not be campaigning on Sunday, Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, and Democratic groups that bought airtime earlier this week won't air their commercials then either. But Turner's campaign is relying on one of the most recognizable faces from the Ground Zero attacks in its closing days - on Friday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani recorded a robocall for the GOP hopeful. "Turner is a businessman and a patriotic New Yorker. He's fed up with what's going on in Washington, and he's running to help get our economy running again," Giuliani says in the call. "Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent, vote for Bob Turner. That message will carry all across the country."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/09/republicans-quietly-helping-turner-in-ny-09-10
This weekend, the NRCC and the RNC will also have several staffers on the ground in the Queens and Brooklyn-based district helping Turner's campaign. The Pennsylvania Republican Party is sending volunteers to help in the final days as well.
More overt help from the national GOP in this liberal district could have had a negative effect. Frustration with Washington, and with President Obama in particular, is fueling the potential upset - explaining why national Republicans may have been hesitant to pour lump sums of independent expenditures into the race even as Turner's momentum continued to rise.
The NRCC has sent out fundraising pleas to its email list this week on Turner's behalf, and GOP leadership has also stepped up their individual giving. Both the NRCC and the RNC have now donated the maximum $5,000. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, gave $2,000 while his Freedom Project PAC gave another $5,000, and both Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions's PAC each gave $5,000. While the GOP campaign arm made calls earlier this week inquiring about TV time, the NRCC doesn't appear poised to go up on the expensive New York City airwaves - and with only two actual campaign days left until the September 13 vote, it couldn't make much of an impact. Both candidates will not be campaigning on Sunday, Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, and Democratic groups that bought airtime earlier this week won't air their commercials then either. But Turner's campaign is relying on one of the most recognizable faces from the Ground Zero attacks in its closing days - on Friday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani recorded a robocall for the GOP hopeful. "Turner is a businessman and a patriotic New Yorker. He's fed up with what's going on in Washington, and he's running to help get our economy running again," Giuliani says in the call. "Whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent, vote for Bob Turner. That message will carry all across the country."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/09/republicans-quietly-helping-turner-in-ny-09-10