Groups pull TV ad spending in Senate race

Michigan Public | By Steve Carmody

Published October 7, 2014 at 4:33 PM EDT

Millions of dollars are being spent by Republicans and Democrats on TV ads in Michigan

Time is running out before Election Day, and some groups think their money would be better spent elsewhere.

The Associated Press reports Republican groups are pulling ad buys supporting U.S. Senate Candidate Terri Lynn Land.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee pulled nearly $1 million in ads for the weeks of Oct. 21 and Oct. 28, according to a political operative who tracks ad spending. Democrat Gary Peters leads Republican Terri Lynn Land in Michigan.

Land and her allies spent $18 million on advertising through September, while Peters and his supporters spent $14 million. Republicans are hoping to net six seats to control the Senate.

Other outside groups, too, are bailing on the Senate race.

The Detroit News says the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is pulling ads supporting three Michigan Democratic hopefuls.

The Democratic group was canceling ads it planned for Michigan’s 7th, 8th and 11th districts — respectively involving GOP U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg of Tipton as well as Republican primary winners Mike Bishop of Rochester, the former state Senate majority leader, and Birmingham foreclosure attorney Dave Trott. It is a sign Democrats are putting their money into other races they think they are more likely to win. The move is a blow to Democratic challengers Pam Byrnes, a former state representative from Chelsea; Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing; and Bobby McKenzie, a former State Department counter-terrorism senior adviser from Canton Township.

Meanwhile, billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is spending big in Michigan’s governor and U.S. Senate races, and he's limiting his spending to just one party. The New York Times reportsBloomberg’s Independence USA PAC plans to spend millions of dollars boosting Republican Rick Snyder's and Democrat Gary Peters' campaigns. The Times says Bloomberg is spending money on “centrist” candidates in Michigan and Massachusetts.

“He wants to elect people who are open and actually inclined to work with people across the aisle,” said Howard Wolfson, the political adviser to Mr. Bloomberg, the former New York mayor and the principal owner of Bloomberg L.P.