WASHINGTON, D.C. — Several national Republican groups have cut off financial support for Republican Eric Conroy, who is challenging Democrat Rep. Greg Landsman, suggesting the GOP no longer sees a path for victory in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House GOP leadership, canceled all remaining advertising in the Cincinnati-area district. The group had previously announced it would spend at least $4 million on the race.
Super PACs aligned with President Donald Trump also pulled funding from the race, according to reporting from the New York Times. Federal campaign finance records show the newly formed, pro-Trump No Going Back PAC has spent more than $1 million supporting Conroy and opposing Landsman, but that the last transaction was Oct. 6.
The district was once considered one of the most competitive in the country, with both parties viewing it as key to maintaining control of the House. In July the National Republican Congressional Committee added the district to its list of Democrat-controlled seats it was targeting, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listed Landsman as one of 26 frontline incumbents to protect.
However, national political trends favoring Democrats have also filtered down to the race, which Trump acknowledged at a campaign rally Oct. 17 in northern Kentucky, just across the border from Ohio.
“They say it’s a little bit of a close race, but we’re doing really, really well over there,” Trump said. “Eric Conroy—they say he’s—I got to be, I don’t know him very well, but I know one thing. His references are phenomenal.”
In another sign of Democratic momentum, the Cook Political Report last week shifted its ranking of the race from “Lean Democrat” to “Likely Democrat.”
The ad cancellations and ranking change come even though the Ohio Legislature last year redrew the district to favor Republicans. The new map moved the district from leaning 3 points Democratic to 5 points Republican, according to Inside Elections.
Landsman’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Conroy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the funding cuts or the rating change. However, last week, the campaign released a poll showing Landsman ahead by just 1.6 percentage points, with campaign manager Collin Wojcik writing in a statement,
“This polling comes in a tough national environment, with GOP committees and outside groups focused on incumbent protection. Despite the national environment, OH-01 looks poised to come down to the wire.”
The campaign also noted that another super PAC that backed Conroy in the primary had pledged $1 million to support him.
Cincinnati-based Red Bridge Leadership PAC, which supported Conroy in the primary, has spent $1.9 million to support Conroy and oppose Landsman, according to campaign finance records.
The Congressional Leadership Fund did not respond to a request for comment.