National Republican Congressional Committee

The National Rifle Association is giving the cash-strapped campaign of Republican congressional candidate Sydney Hay some help in the 1st Congressional District, according to an NRA spokeswoman.

"We've done billboards and sent out mailers to our members," said Ashley Varner, speaking on behalf of the NRA. "We've also done some radio."

Varner said she believed the radio spots and mailers went out across the sprawling 1st district, but didn't know how many billboards had been put up as well.

With national Democrats having outspend their House GOP counterparts by a ratio of 100-1 or more, the National Republican Congressional Committee has finally launched their first ad buys of the cycle, coordinating with mail programs targeting vulnerable members of both parties. The trouble is, it may already be too late.

As the economy rockets to the front of voters' minds, Republicans find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. A full 59 percent say economic issues are the most important ones facing the country right now according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, a higher percentage of the population agreeing on one topic than most pollsters can remember at any other given time.

Even as most Republicans cast votes against the first incarnation of the emergency economic stabilization legislation, a measure which proved so highly unpopular that most congressional offices reported constituent calls about the legislation running at 100 to 1 against, the GOP still trails Democrats when voters are asked which party they trust most to handle the economy.

A day after U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) released a TV ad touting her record on border security, national Republicans and state Sen. Pres. Tim Bee (R-Tucson) are using votes Giffords cast in Congress to make the case that she isn't as tough as she claims.

"Gabby Giffords’ campaign is apparently suffering from a severe case of selective memory,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Brendan Buck in a press release. “While she likes to claim she is ‘tough’ on immigration, her record clearly states otherwise. Giffords can gab until she’s red in the face, but at the end of the day she is going to have to answer for her abysmal record on illegal immigration.”

Among the legislative accomplishments Giffords highlights in the new ad are efforts to put 3,000 more agents at the border and measures to stop drug trafficking.

However, Tim Bee, Giffords's opponent in the 8th Congressional District, is saying that other votes reveal her record to be less than stellar on border issues.

The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee announced Monday that it would be reserving television advertising time prior to November's election and among those receiving substantial support from the committee is 8th District Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn ) according to RealClearPolitics.com.

The NRCC is set to spend $1 million on Reichert's behalf as he fends off a challenge from his 2006 opponent, Democrat Darcy Burner.

Susan Bitter Smith, one of the Republican primary candidates in the 5th Congressional District jockeying for the chance to take on U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) in the general election, held a "virtual" fundraiser Wednesday for donors in Washington, D.C. and across the country.

The event may have been virtual, but the money is real. Bitter Smith told PolitickerAZ.com that the conference call brought her campaign $10,000.

"It ended up being actually quite an interesting event," said Bitter Smith. "The only thing they didn't get was obviously the soda and cheese and crackers."

HILLSBORO - Across from a magic show, next to a fortune teller and adjacent to the funnel cakes is not necessarily where one would expect to witness the Republican Party squaring off against its own candidate. But after Joel Haugen, who says he is a traditional Republican and who quotes Teddy Roosevelt at the end of his e-mails, became his party's nominee in the 1st Congressional District, the Washington County fair became but one field where the battle would be played out.

A Democratic polling firm has U.S. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) beating her 8th Congressional District challenger state Sen. Pres. Tim Bee (R-Tucson) by 25 points. A Bee internal poll only has her up by seven, and under the 50 percent threshold. With no third opinion, the truth remains elusive.

Pres. Bush hosted a fundraiser for Bee in Tucson on Friday, which the campaign estimates brought in $500,000 to be split among his campaign, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Pima County Republican Party Federal Fund. At the same time, Bee released a poll, conducted by Margaret Kenski, a highly-regarded Republican pollster, that shows Giffords holds a seven point lead over Bee, 47 percent to 40 percent, with 13 percent undecided.

The continuing allegations of ethics violations against U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) may have consequences for Democratic politicians across the country, including in Arizona. Today, in their third such attack, the National Republican Congressional Committee is calling on 1st Congressional District candidate Ann Kirkpatrick to return campaign contributions she received from Rangel. The NRCC had previously called for U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) and Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson) to do the same.

“Ann Kirkpatrick is not a voice for change, she is status-quo politician willing to get elected to Congress any way she can,” said NRCC Spokesman Ken Spain in a press release. “If Kirkpatrick wants to separate herself from a corrupt politician and an unpopular Democrat Majority in Congress, she will return the campaign checks she took from Rep. Charlie Rangel.”

Seth Scott, campaign manager for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe), is responding to charges of inaction by Mitchell on the issue of the nation's energy crisis, which have been a main topic of attacks issued against the freshman Democrat.

"Harry has been talking about energy for two years now," Scott told PolitickerAZ.com. "To say that his position isn't clear indicates some people haven't been paying attention."

Mitchell has come under fire from his prospective opponents, who are engaged in a six-way Republican primary to face him on the general election ballot, as well as the National Republican Congressional Committee for what they characterize as the failures of the Democratic-controlled U.S. House, and Mitchell in specific, to take action on high gas prices.

President George W. Bush is coming to Tucson on July 18 to "honor" state Senate President and 8th Congressional District candidate Tim Bee (R-Tucson).

According to the invitation, the event will take place at the home of Jackie and William Bell, and is being hosted by auto dealership magnate Jim Click, National Rifle Association President Sandra Froman, lawyer and real estate developer Duff Hearon and former Carondelet Foundation CEO Jannie Cox.

The event is being mounted by the Tim Bee Arizona Trust, a joint fundraising venture of Tim Bee for Congress, the National Republican Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Pima County Republican Party Federal Campaign. Contributors of $10,000 or more get a VIP reception and photo op with Pres. Bush, while donations of $1,000 to $9,999 earn the donor breakfast at the event.