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WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign’s “Hail Mary pass” in enticing his colleagues to pony-up funds to help elect Republican senators just landed with a thud.
Ensign announced this morning he is cutting back on outside TV ads for Republican Senate candidates because his plea for a financial lift went unanswered.
"I recently challenged my colleagues to step up to the plate and help me provide the resources our candidates need to compete in races across the country,” Ensign said in a release from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “It has become clear that my call has gone largely unanswered.”
The lackluster assist has been a theme throughout Ensign’s tenure these past two years as chairman of the NRSC. On multiple occasions, he has gone public with his displeasure that colleagues are not stepping up to the plate.
Last month, Ensign brazenly announced he was ordering up $44.8 million of TV airtime for Republican Senate candidates to compete with the deep pockets of his counterparts at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The only catch -- his campaign fund had just over half that much money on hand.
Ensign said at the time he was operating “on faith -- faith that my Republican colleagues will step up to the challenge.”
At the time, political analyst Jennifer Duffy at the Cook Political Report called it a “Hail Mary pass."
Oh well.
The money goes for so-called Independent Expenditures (IE) that are coordinated separately, by law, but with committee funding.
The committee did not say this morning how deep the budget cut would be.
Buried in the statement is one more plea from Ensign: “It is still my hope,” he said, Republican colleagues will help.
Here’s the full release, for those of you who want the details:
"I recently challenged my colleagues to step up to the plate and help me provide the resources our candidates need to compete in races across the country -- to match the DSCC expenditures in targeted races. It has become clear that my call has gone largely unanswered. I have no control over the timing or content of IE ads, but I have had no choice but to decrease the total budget of our IE Unit. It is still my hope that my Republican colleagues will engage in this election and help match what the Democrats are doing. If they do, I will adjust our budget accordingly."
Pundits believe Democrats could capture a handful of Senate seats this fall, pushing Nevada Sen. Harry Reid’s slim 51-seat majority closer to the 60-vote threshold needed to pass bills in the chamber.
Some believe that, if the stars align in November, hitting 60 could be within reach.
Ensign has had a difficult time recruiting quality candidates and raising money in a climate that favors Democrats.
But he had recently painted a more optimistic picture than he had in the past, saying he’d be lucky if the party lost two seats -- rather than four.
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