In 2006, McMahon, Squier and Associates was one of only six media consulting firms hired by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to work on the independent expenditure campaigns of some of the toughest and most important congressional districts in the country. In an unprecedented effort, MSA developed unique spots that matched the tenor of each district while breaking through the clutter.
The result: Hard hitting and creative ads that contributed to Democratic victories in 8 of our 10 assigned races.
MSA helped defeat long-time battle tested incumbents like Nancy Johnson and Rob Simmons in Connecticut as well as J.D Hayworth in Arizona. Unlike many political ads that reveal an opponent’s record, these were not overtly negative. Instead, MSA used a combination of humor, arresting images, and innovative themes.
One ad portrayed a group of lobbyists singing in praise of J.D. Hayworth in Arizona for his special interest votes in Congress while in Connecticut, we ran ads demonstrating how Rob Simmons has lost his way over the years and forgot who he represented. These ads established credibility with voters and made the case for change.
In 2008, we worked on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on independent expenditure campaigns in congressional districts across the country. We won races in AZ-5, CO-4, FL-8, MI-7, NV-3, NY-29, OH-16, PA-3, and VA-11. We were successful in defeating long-time Republican incumbents Marilyn Musgrave in CO-4, Ric Keller in FL-8, Tim Walberg in MI-7, Jon Porter in NV-3, Randy Kuhl in NY-29 and Phil English in PA-3. In OH-16 and VA-11 we succeeded in turning those districts from red to blue and defending Democrat Harry Mitchell’s seat in AZ-5.
In OH-16 we produced an ad highlighting Republican Kirk Schuring’s repeated absences from the OH turnpike commission he was appointed to, only showing up to vote himself a pay raise and to raise taxes. The ad was based on a popular theme from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and used humor, without being overtly negative, to drive home Schuring’s record.
