GOP hopeful cancels TV advertising time

David Young, a former staffer to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), has canceled reserved television ad time in the Omaha market through election day, according to a source tracking ad buys.

{mosads}News of the $107,000 cancellation comes a week after the Associated Press reported Young had also canceled scheduled airtime on a pair of Des Moines television stations.  Young, who is vying to represent Iowa’s third congressional district, isn’t expected to go back on air in Des Moines until next month.

Canceled air time late in a race can oftentimes signal that a candidate is struggling to fundraise, although The National Republican Congressional Committee told the Associated Press they’re committed to spending $1.5 million on the race by Election Day.  Earlier this month, the NRCC went up with an ad in the race criticizing Young’s opponent, Democrat Staci Appel, as soft on terrorism.

But Tim Albrecht, a spokesman for Young, dismissed the concerns noting Appel had also canceled ad time in the Omaha market and said a new ad buy would begin this weekend with the use of coordinated funds.

“As she reallocates her funding we will make sure she doesn’t get a free pass,” said Albrecht. 

Albrecht also expressed confidence that the NRCC ads — which seized on Appel saying she would not necessarily revoke the passports of foreign fighters who traveled overseas — were giving her a campaign an advantage.

“The fact that all her ads now are her backtracking on the passports for terrorists issue shows how wildly off message they are at this point, just five weeks from the election,” Albrecht said.

The race to replace retiring Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) is one of the closet watched contests this cycle. A poll for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee obtained by The Hill earlier this lead suggested Appel held a 47-44 percent lead over Young, within the survey’s 5 point margin of error. 

This post was updated at 1:40 p.m.