MEMO: The Role of House Majority PAC in Election 2012
November 6, 2012
In the 2010 cycle, outside Democratic groups were outspent by outside Republican groups by a margin of 3 to 1 – $73 million to $26 million. House Majority PAC’s commitment has been to narrow that gap.
And we did. In 2012, House Majority PAC helped halve the ratio of outside Republican spending to outside Democratic spending, reducing it to less than 1.5 to 1. Outside Democratic groups spent a total of $80 million in the last five months while outside Republican groups spent approximately $107 million.
State of Play
During the 2012 cycle, House Majority PAC raised $35.6 million, enabling the organization to be involved in a significant way in 53 competitive House districts. And every single dollar that House Majority PAC raised and spent was disclosed and open to public scrutiny, just like campaigns and party committees.
In addition, House Majority PAC also worked to efficiently and effectively marshal resources from other outside progressive groups. In race after race, House Majority PAC played a coordinating role, ensuring:
- Message consistency,
- Resource conservation; and
- Coverage for all pieces of the political program (TV, mail, radio, etc.)
Spending Breakdown:
Total House Majority PAC expenditure on electronic communication: $28 million, including $26 million in TV ads.
Other political expenditures:
- Mail, $2.5 million
- Polling and Research, $2 million
- Special elections, $1.4 million
Five races in which House Majority PAC spent the most:
- FL-18, $2.4 million (8 TV ads, 14 piece mail program, Hispanic radio)
- CA-26, $1.5 million (3 TV ads – incl. 1 in June election, 9 piece mail program)
- MN-08, $1.4 million (5 TV ads, 1 radio ad, 7 piece mail program)
- OH-16, $1.4 million (2 TV ads, coordinated $400,000 mail program)
- NY-18, $1.1 million (1 TV spot, 4 piece mail program)
Spending Coordination
To efficiently and effectively deploy resources, one House Majority PAC strategy was to coordinate spending in races in which multiple groups expressed interest. Races in which House Majority PAC coordinated the largest amount of outside spending:
- CA-07, $3.4 million
- MI-01, $2.9 million
- IA-04, $2 million
- IL-17, $1.5 million