The House Republicans' super PAC has put out two new ads in support of GOP nominee Troy Balderson in the special election for Ohio's 12th Congressional District, the Washington Examiner reported on Monday.

The new spots by the Congressional Leadership Fund are part of its $1 million advertising buy for the Aug. 7 election in the district, which was left vacant after Republican Pat Tiberi resigned from Congress in January to take a job in the private sector.

One of the ads, which presents Balderson as a pragmatic problem solver, talks about his education record and the other charges Democratic nominee Danny O'Connor with misrepresenting his career in public service.

Congressional Leadership Fund is investing more than $100 million overall in the midterm elections in an attempt to protect its 24-seat House majority.

Ohio's 12th Congressional District, near Columbus, is the kind of GOP-leaning suburban seat that Democrats hope to win in their bid to take control of the House, as districts with large numbers of educated conservatives are less enamored of President Donald Trump than those in rural areas.

Trump is not mentioned in either of the two new Republican ads.

The latest poll, conducted earlier this month by Monmouth University, shows Balderson holding a 43 percent to 33 percent advantage over O'Connor among all potential voters, with a relatively large 21 percent undecided.

However, this is a significantly smaller margin than Tiberi won by in his last three re-election bids, when he captured the seat by between 27 and 40 points.

There is significant focus on this election, following the surprise Democratic victories in the special elections for senator from Alabama last December and for the House in Pennsylvania's 18th District in March that were in traditional Republican strongholds.



