Conservative group makes big TV ad buys in 2 California House races

A conservative group associated with Republican strategist Karl Rove has purchased airtime for television ads in two of California’s most heated House races.

Crossroads GPS, an affiliate of American Crossroads, which Rove founded, bought $894,000 in TV ads to run in the Sacramento suburbs, where freshman Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) is facing a Nov. 4 challenge from former Republican congressman Doug Ose.

The broadcast and cable ads are scheduled to run from Aug. 19 to Sept. 1.

The group, which is not required to disclose its donors, also bought $702,000 in cable and broadcast TV ads in the San Diego area, where former City Councilman Carl DeMaio is trying to unseat another freshman Democrat, Scott Peters.

The San Diego ads will run during the same period as those in the Sacramento-area contest.

Both races are heavily contested by the major parties as Republicans try to build on their House majority and Democrats fight to keep seats they wrested from the GOP two years ago.

Democrats seized on Crossroads GPS’ connection with Rove, as in this statement from Bera campaign spokeswoman Allison Teixeira:

“It’s not surprising that former Congressman Doug Ose is in trouble and his radical Washington insider friend Karl Rove is bailing him out to the tune of nearly a million dollars.”

The California TV ad buys are part of more than $3 million in purchases in a handful of hotly contested, Democrat-held districts around the country, according to the media organization Politico.

Follow @jeanmerl for the latest in Southern California politics news.