National Democrats Cancel a Third $502,520 Ad Buy for Keith Fitzgerald

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committeehas cancelled another ad buy for congressional candidate Keith Fitzgerald, further distancing itself from the Democrat's campaign. This is the third consecutive week the DCCC has cancelled airtime in FL-16, totaling over $1.1 million.

The move comes a day after a new independent poll shows U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-FL, with a 17-point advantage over his opponent less than 30 days before the election. The Rothenberg Political Report also moved the FL-16 race into the Republican "favored" category following Fitzgerald's refusal to denounce the anti-Republican, anti-Catholic rants of his chief spokeswoman, Ana Maria Rosato, who was terminated from her position after Sunshine State News exposedher vitriol.

Washington publications reported this morning that the DCCC pulled $502,520 from FL-16 for Oct. 23-29. Last week, the national Democrats withdrew $422,970 for Oct. 16-22 and $223,000 from the week before.

The ads were originally scheduled to run in the Sarasota and Tampa media markets.