A national Democratic group is spending more money in the 9th Congressional District election, hoping Democrats can wrest the seat from Republicans this November.
It's the second round of ads from the Washington-based House Majority PAC targeting Republican Mark Harris. He faces Democrat Dan McCready in a race for the seat currently held by GOP Congressman Robert Pittenger. Harris upset Pittenger in the May primary, while McCready easily won the Democratic nomination.
The 9th District ads are part of a $3 million campaign that began last month in a dozen races nationwide that Democrats think they have a shot at winning.
House Majority PAC says it launched 15- and 30-second versions of a new ad that doesn't mention McCready. Instead, the ad focuses on Harris's support for the GOP tax overhaul, which the ad says favors unnamed "special interests." Like the previous ads, these are running on TV, Facebook, and music and video streaming services.
Meanwhile, McCready has a big fundraising advantage. As of June 30, the Democrat had $1.8 million in cash on hand, according to federal campaign finance reports. Over the past year, he has raised about $2.5 million and spent about $862,000.
Harris had only about $300,000 on hand, much of that raised since the May primary. Overall, he has raised about $931,000 and spent about $600,000 in the 12 months that ended June 30.