Politico article suggests DCCC may be losing interest in Callis campaign

With just two months remaining until Election Day, the two contenders battling for the 13^th Congressional District have stepped up their paid media outreach.

However, one of the candidates, Democratic challenger Ann Callis, may be losing support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) as she enters the homestretch in her battle to unseat GOP Rep. Rodney Davis, says an article in Politico.

Callis, former Madison County circuit judge, stepped down from a 19-year career on the bench last year to make a run at Congress.

The Politico article states that Democrats have gradually narrowed their focus to protecting jeopardized incumbents and are likely to seriously invest in only the dozen or so candidates seen as realistic contenders for Republican-held seats.

The article published Tuesday states that national Democrats had been "talking up" Callis at the beginning of the election cycle, but that she (and another Democrat candidate in California) have not been receiving much attention lately, and that neither candidate are seen as "likely to win."

And, according to an article published today in the The News-Gazette in Champaign, the DCCC has not canceled any TV time reserved for the Callis’s campaign next month.

In a statement to the paper, DCCC spokesman Brandon Lorenz said, "Judge Callis is running a strong campaign talking about her record of reform and holding Congressman Davis accountable for keeping perks like his taxpayer-funded gym during his government shutdown."

Meanwhile, the Davis campaign is trucking along, launching its second television ad on Wednesday.

The ad features Davis’ 17-year old daughter, Toryn, who shares her concerns regarding the cost of going to college, and how proud she is of her father and the work he is doing in Congress to make college more affordable.

“Next year I’ll be a freshman in college,” says Toryn Davis in the commercial.

“I’m a little nervous but excited to get away from my brothers. It’s also a little scary to think about how much college costs. That’s why I’m so proud of my dad, Rodney Davis. In Congress, he’s fighting to make college more affordable and working just as hard to create jobs, so we all have a better future.”

Davis supported H.R. 1911, a bill aimed at preventing student loan rates from doubling.

In July, he also supported H.R. 4983, a bill that would require students and parents participating in the federal student loan program to receive annual counseling to ensure borrowers are aware of their debts and obligations on a yearly basis.