GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

National Republicans aren't quite triaging GOP Rep. and Putin bud Dana Rohrabacher, but neither the NRCC nor the Congressional Leadership Fund is giving the California congressman much support. The Washington Post recently reported that the NRCC had spent nothing to aid GOP candidates in California’s 25th District (Rep. Steve Knight), the 39th (Young Kim), and Rohrabacher's 48th. A separate Los Angeles Times article noted that the CLF is spending on expensive broadcast ads for Knight and Kim, but they're only investing in cheaper cable TV ads for Rohrabacher and Rep. Mimi Walters in the 45th.

That means that, at least right now, both major national Republican groups are forcing Rohrabacher to largely fend for himself in a very tough race against Democrat Harley Rouda. Indeed, CNN reports that in the first week of October, 292 Democratic ads ran here while not one GOP spot aired (though that analysis may have only applied to broadcast ads, not cable; it’s not clear).

It's a bit surprising that the GOP isn't doing a lot more to help their incumbent in this coastal Orange County seat, since the two polls we saw in September found a very tight contest between Rohrabacher and Rouda. However, it's possible Team Red just sees worse numbers for Rohrabacher than what these few public polls have shown. Rohrabacher also has been a pretty underwhelming fundraiser this cycle (he raised just short of $400,000 in the third quarter), so the GOP may also be reluctant to spend much on an incumbent who isn't pulling his weight when there are more deserving candidates who need the help.

Over in the nearby 45th District, the NRCC has been spending to help Walters against Democrat Katie Porter, but unnamed GOP strategists recently told the New York Times that Walters could get triaged if she didn't "recover quickly." The CLF isn't exactly cutting her off, but their decision to only advertise on cable may also be a sign that she's not looking like a good investment. Still, CLF did recently spend $241,000 here on ads, so at least they haven’t gone entirely dark at the moment.