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Democratic PAC Pulls Spending From Top Nebraska Pickup Opportunity

Money now going to support Iowa Democrat Cindy Axne

Nebraska Democrat Kara Eastman is challenging GOP Rep. Don Bacon in the 2nd District. (Courtesy Kara Eastman for Congress)
Nebraska Democrat Kara Eastman is challenging GOP Rep. Don Bacon in the 2nd District. (Courtesy Kara Eastman for Congress)

A super PAC tied to House Democratic leadership has pulled its television advertising funding from a competitive Nebraska district, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

The money the House Majority PAC had committed to Democrat Kara Eastman’s bid to unseat freshman GOP Rep. Don Bacon in the Omaha-area 2nd District will now go to support Cindy Axne in Iowa’s 3rd, the spokesman said. Election forecasters see that race as a slightly better pickup opportunity for Democrats. 

Nebraska’s 2nd District was the only seat Democrats were targeting in the state. Rep. Brad Ashford represented the district for a term before Bacon unseated him in 2016 as President Donald Trump was carrying the seat by 2 points. Ashford attempted a comeback this year but lost to Eastman in the Democratic primary. The founder of a public health nonprofit, Eastman was 

Eastman, the founder of a public health nonprofit, was added to the Democratic Congressional Committee’s Red to Blue program for strong recruits this summer. She is among the many Democrats who reported eye-popping fundraising totals in the third quarter that ended Sept. 30. Her $1.25 million haul was more than what any recent 2nd District challenger raised at the same point in their campaigns, the Omaha World-Herald reported. 

Bacon raised about $550,000 during the same period, although he still leads Eastman in overall fundraising — $2.5 million to $2 million. He ended the third quarter with $917,000 in the bank, compared to about $450,000 for Eastman, according to the World-Herald. 

Both candidates released competing polls in recent weeks that each showed Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, with a single-digit lead.

Eastman’s poll, released Oct. 4, found Bacon ahead 49 percent to 45 percent. Bacon’s poll, released Oct. 9, gave him a 9-point lead, 49 percent to 40 percent. 

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the 2nd District race Leans Republican. Axne’s contest against GOP Rep. David Young in Iowa’s 3rd District is rated a Toss-up.

Watch: Democrats Are Breaking Fundraising Records 3 Weeks From Election Day

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