NRCC drops 400k to help Bradley

WASHINGTON - The National Republican Congressional Committee is leaping into New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-Manchester) is trying to fight off a challenge from former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley. The committee has purchased $400,000 in the expensive Boston-New Hampshire media market.

The move comes at a time when the NRCC has reduced television advertising buys in districts across the country.  

The NRCC's new 30-second television, out today, accuses Shea-Porter of voting to "allow sex offenders and drug dealers to buy homes made available with taxpayer dollars."

The buy comes several weeks after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee began hammering Bradley with advertisements as part of a more-than $2 million offensive in the district. The NRCC, which finds itself cash strapped and outspent by the DCCC by an historic four-to-one margin, waited until after its initial round of investments in House races to jump into the contest.

Public polling shows the race competitive, but with Shea-Porter holding an edge. An October SurveyUSA poll conducted for the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call found Shea-Porter leading Bradley 50 percent to 41 percent.

Bradley is fresh off a September primary victory over state Health and Human Services commissioner John Stephen.