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Sign of confidence? Democrats drop ad buy in Va. congressional race

WASHINGTON 鈥 A political action committee that backs Democrats across the country has canceled an $800,000 ad purchase for Virginia鈥檚 10th Congressional District race, indicating the party is growing more confident that Democratic challenger Jennifer Wexton can unseat Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va.

Both candidates have filled the airwaves with ads throughout a hard-fought campaign in northern Virginia that鈥檚 getting national attention.

House Majority PAC had originally planned to purchase broadcast time in the final days leading up to Election Day, according to Advertising Analytics, which is based in Virginia.

Polls have indicated Wexton is leading Comstock, though the GOP incumbent鈥檚 campaign has cited internal polls, suggesting the race is closer than many political observers believe.

Kyle Kondik, managing editor of , at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Comstock has had an uphill battle defending the seat she鈥檚 held since 2014. Part of the reason is due to 2016 election of President Trump, which has energized Democrats in Washington鈥檚 suburbs.

鈥淗er party winning made it harder for her to win re-election,鈥 Kondik said in an interview with 91欧美激情. 鈥淰oters can take out their anger at the president in only limited ways, and one of them is to vote against their incumbent congress person.鈥

Kondik said if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 presidential race, he doubts that Comstock would be in trouble now.

Wexton has tried throughout the campaign to link Comstock to President Trump. Comstock, meanwhile, has emphasized her work on behalf of constituents in her district.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a strategy that, while it makes sense, could be difficult to pull off in an unfavorable environment. So that鈥檚 the challenge for Comstock,鈥 Kondik said.

While Kondik didn鈥檛 discount that Comstock could find 鈥渁 path to victory,鈥 he said it鈥檚 going to be difficult.

鈥淪he still might win re-election, but I think it would be a mild surprise to a lot of people if she did,鈥 he said.

Mitch Miller

Mitchell Miller has worked at 91欧美激情 since 1996, as a producer, editor, reporter and Senior 91欧美激情 Director.聽After working "behind the scenes," coordinating coverage and reporter coverage for years, Mitchell moved back to his first love -- reporting. He is now 91欧美激情's Capitol Hill reporter.

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