DCCC ramps up for Shea-Porter

WASHINGTON - Anticipating a competitive race, national Democrats are ramping up their efforts to defend U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Rochester).

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's independent expenditure arm has reserved more than $2 million in the expensive Boston-New Hampshire media market, a four-fold increase from its initial media buy, according to a source with knowledge of the reservation. All told, the committee plans to air seven weeks of ads targeting Shea-Porter's Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley.

The DCCC began its offensive in the district in mid-September with a $490,000 television blitz aimed at Bradley's record in Congress.

"While in Congress, Jeb Bradley voted with George Bush up to 85 percent of the time," an announcer said in the 30-second spot. "He voted to cut funding for veterans' programs, voted for handouts for big drug companies and voted against cracking down on price gouging by oil companies. No wonder even some Republicans say Jeb Bradley is everything that's wrong with Washington."

Last week, amid the financial crisis, the committee aired another television spot accusing Bradley of voting against "cracking down on golden parachutes for greedy corporate CEOs."

The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, which finds itself cash-strapped and trailing the DCCC in cash on hand by a four-to-one ratio, has yet to reserve time in the district.

Shea-Porter is running for a second term in the House after narrowly ousting Bradley in what was widely seen as one of the most surprising upsets of the 2006 cycle.