Big-time TV ad buys point to suddenly competitive congressional race | McClatchy Washington Bureau

The National Republican Congressional Committee is ramping up its involvement in the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district, launching a television ad buy that begins on Monday and will run through Election Day in March — a sign of how nationalized and competitive the race in the typically conservative district is shaping up to be.

So far the committee has put nearly $300,000 behind the buy backing Republican Rick Saccone, according to a media buying source, but the length of the buy suggests the committee plans to spend even more between now and March 13.

News of the buy comes a day after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee moved to go on air in the district, spending $224,000 in an investment that marks the first involvement of a national Democratic group in the race. Democrats had previously waffled on whether to spend money on the race, concerned that victory was out of reach even if polling showed a closer-than-expected contest.

Other major conservative groups have already mobilized in the race, determined to ward off an upset of Saccone by Democrat Conor Lamb, after a string of recent electoral defeats everywhere from the Alabama special election Senate race to a Wisconsin state senate contest. Republicans are nervous about Saccone’s ability to raise money, as well as broader national dynamics, including an ultra-energized progressive base that has turned out in strong numbers in special elections at every level of government in the Trump era.

The district, located in a conservative southwest corner of the state, required a special election after its former incumbent, Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, resigned last year following reports he had encouraged his mistress to have an abortion. Republicans had once expected to win it easily — Trump won the district by nearly 20 points in 2016.

The president visited the district last week, part of a broader GOP effort to help Saccone in a district where Trump remains popular.