The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pouring $3.3 million into television advertising campaigns in support of Republicans in 9 California House races, the National Journal reports today, including $348,000 in Ventura County's 26th Congressional District and $118,000 in the neighboring 24th District in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties (which also includes a small coastal strip in Ventura County).

The buy quickly triggered a response from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which in a statement today called it a reaction to rising concerns among Republicans that a shift in recent national polls showing growing support for

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Watch videos analyzing the November California ballot propositions featuring Timm Herdt and David Maron of the Ventura County League of Women Voters.
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President Obama over Mitt Romney in the presidential race could dampen the chances of Republican candidates for Congress. It cites the latest Cook Political Report, which stated "If there is one place House Republican strategists are particularly concerned about a downturn in Romney's fortunes nationally, it is California. Pollsters on both sides privately point to a top-of-the-ticket drag that is making life extremely difficult..."

The ad buy comes on top of a $450,000 purchase by the National Republican Congressional Committee, bringing outside spending on behalf of Republican Tony Strickland so far this fall to more than $900,000.

REGISTERING ONLINE: The Secretary of State's Office reports that in the one week since one-click online voter registration became available in California, more than 110,000 took advantage to register to vote. It's likely that not all of these are new voters, because the service can be used to re-register if a voter has moved. It will be most interesting to see what the net increase in new voters will be when the final statewide voter registration figures are released before the Nov. 6 election. The most recent report will provide a solid baseline to use to measure the effect, because it reflects registration as of Sept. 7, only about a week before online registration became available.

LET BYGONES BE BYGONES, OR NOT: Sometimes losers in political primary campaigns get over it, move on and stay loyal to their party. And sometimes not.
There are examples of each in Central Coast politics today.
-- Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Jess Herrera has endorsed fellow Democrat Julia Brownley, who beat him in the June 5 primary. In a statement released by the Brownley campaign, Herrera says he "is proud to endorse Julia" because she "has a proved record of improving education and working to create the jobs we need right here in Oxnard and all of Ventura County."
-- Former Santa Barbara Assemblyman Pedro Nava, who backed fellow Democrat Jason Hodge in the 19th Senate District primary, has come just short of endorsing Republican Mike Stoker in the general election.

Nava has engaged in a long-running, bitter feud with former Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara (he told me during the primary that voters in Oxnard "couldn't pick her out of lineup"), a feud that intensified two years ago when Jackson protege Das Williams ran against, and defeated Nava's wife, Susan Jordan, in the 35th Assembly District primary.

Today the Stoker campaign issued a press release heralding the kind words Nava had to say about the Republican running against Jackson in an interview with the United Agribusiness League.

"I had the privilege of working with Mike Stoker while in the Assembly and what I especially appreciate about Mike is his openness and willingness to work in a bi-partisan way to get the job done. If we had more people like Mike involved in Sacramento a whole lot more would get done on behalf of the people of the state of California," Nava says in the interview.