NRCC hits Shea-Porter in first ad of 2014 cycle

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is out with its first ad of the 2014 cycle, attacking Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) for her vote against a GOP-backed measure to block congressional pay without passage of a budget.

"New Hampshire values. Work hard every day to earn a paycheck. Pay the bills, provide for our kids. It’s what we do here in New Hampshire," a narrator says in the ad.

"But in Washington, the politicians haven’t done their job. Congress hasn’t passed a budget, but Congress still gets paid," the narrator ads, going on to say that Shea-Porter "voted to keep it that way."

The ad references the "No Budget, No Pay" act that House Republicans included in their bill suspending nation's debt limit until May, which would freeze congressional pay until lawmakers pass a budget, which the Senate hasn't done since 2009.

Shea-Porter, however, is being targeted not because she served a leadership role on opposition to the bill — a majority of Democrats voted against it.

Rather, her apparent weakness in the state, according to a recent poll that showed New Hampshirites split on their opinion of her, makes her a ripe target for the committee's first on-air attack of the cycle.

Shea-Porter won her race by about four percentage points in November, narrowly defeating former Rep. Frank Guinta (R) in a district won by President Obama by a little less than two percentage points.

Her district is considered by Republicans in the state and in Washington to be a prime pickup opportunity in 2014, and it's clear the NRCC won't let her retain her seat without playing heavy defense. Sources say Guinta is considering challenging her again.

But on Friday, she told local news site WMUR that she wasn't worried about the early attack.

"That's OK," she said. "If this is what they want to do, bring it."

Watch the ad:

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