House Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC that works to elect Democrats to the House, is going on the air Tuesday with an ad attacking 12-term Florida Republican Rep. John L. Mica and introducing Democrat Stephanie Murphy as a "new approach to get the job done."
Democrats have been eyeing Florida's 7th District as a possible pickup opportunity but didn't have a candidate until Murphy announced her candidacy the day before Florida's June 24 filing deadline. Democrat Bill Phillips suspended his campaign in April.
House Majority PAC blasts Mica in the ad for voting to increase his own pay eight times. It's a traditional contrast ad; the tone of the music changes at the 15-second mark to tout Murphy's calls to cut congressional salaries.
The group is spending $800,000 on a two-week buy on Orlando broadcast and cable TV. It is also spending $54,000 to run the ad on digital platforms. The super PAC reserved ad time here in July.
Knocking off Mica is still a tall order. He won re-election in 2014 by more than 30 points. But the district has since been redrawn, giving Democrats hope they can pick him off in a presidential election year. Under the current boundaries, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each took 49 percent of the district's vote in 2012, according to an analysis by Daily Kos Elections.
Mica ended the pre-primary reporting period on Aug. 10 with $789,000 in cash on hand. Murphy ended the same period with $154,000 in the bank.
The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates the race Republican Favored.
