Lieutenant Gov. Tahesha Way’s bid for New Jersey’s 11th congressional district will start getting some major outside help this weekend, courtesy of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.
The DLGA announced today that it is spending $590,000 on a new broadcast and cable TV ad that promotes Way, who is also the New Jersey Secretary of State, as a defender of democracy against President Donald Trump; the spot echoes similar messages put out by Way’s own campaign in recent days. That investment, the DLGA said, may represent only the first wave of support for Way, with “further spending announcements forthcoming.”
“Lt. Governor Way has led New Jersey’s response to Trump’s attacks on our democracy – and won again and again,” DLGA executive director Kevin Holst said in a statement. “Now, as Trump pushes his cost-raising agenda and unleashes violent ICE raids and lawless attacks on our communities, we need leaders in Congress who have shown they won’t back down.”
The DLGA’s investment – which comes on top of the approximately $78,000 the group has reported spending on pro-Way direct mail – gives Way a massive boost in a truncated race where few candidates have had much time to put together a fundraising and advertising apparatus. Fundraising reports won’t be due for another week, but the $670,000 or so that the DLGA has spent on Way will likely dwarf what many candidates have raised throughout their entire campaigns.
And, so far, Way is the only candidate in the 11th district special election to receive anywhere near that kind of outside assistance. Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky formed a super PAC to promote former Rep. Tom Malinowski over the summer, but it’s only spent around $100,000 on digital advertising thus far.
Another independent expenditure group looks like it’ll soon touch down in the district, however: according to AdImpact Politics, United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has placed $353,000 worth of ad reservations in the district beginning tomorrow. Who those ads will be supporting or opposing, though, remains unclear for now.
