* The SJ-R followed up on the Politico story about Democratic groups pulling out of Ann Callis’ congressional race…

Ann Callis said Tuesday that having the political arm of the House Democrats pull funding for some advertising on her behalf doesn’t mean she’s out of the running in the 13th Congressional District.

“I don’t wake up in the morning to see what the national Democrats and the national press are saying about me,” Callis told the editorial board of The State Journal-Register. “I know we have built an extremely strong ground game … and I am confident that we are in a very, very good place.” […]

But Brandon Lorenz, DCCC regional press secretary, did not concede the 13th. “Ad reservations are changing every week, and Judge Ann Callis is running an aggressive campaign in a tough climate” while exposing Davis’ record, he said.

“Remain calm!”

* WICS has more Callis reaction…

“It’s clear we’re building grassroots momentum and will continue to fight for our values for the next four weeks.”

“All is well!”

Hat tip to the NRCC for the story links. The “Animal House” reference is my own.

*** UPDATE *** From the Callis campaign…

The campaign of former Chief Judge and Congressional challenger Ann Callis today announced it is in a strong position going into the final four weeks of the election due to its successful fundraising and strong grassroots network of support.

The campaign had its strongest fundraising quarter of the cycle, raising more than $400,000 during the third quarter. As of September 30th, the campaign had more than $545,000 cash on hand. Volunteers across Illinois have responded to Callis’ call for change and have contacted thousands of residents and registered more than 8,300 new voters as of the traditional registration deadline, a strategic key in a district that was decided by 1,002 votes in 2012.

“Our campaign is building strong grassroots momentum as voters connect with our message of restoring accountability to Washington for members of both parties. We’ve seen record fundraising as individual low-dollar donors and families across Illinois are chipping in and doing what they can, rejecting Congressman Davis’ Washington insider strategy of relying heavily on funds from special interests and corporate donors that directly benefit from his votes.

“Let me be clear, this campaign has never been about the national Democratic Party, out-of-state billionaires like the Koch brothers, or Washington pundits. My campaign and vision for public service are not beholden to anybody but the people I’d be elected to serve. As a woman who has spent her career in the judiciary, I’ve been underestimated before, but I am confident and inspired by the many people across our district who are fueling this campaign and leading us to victory on Election Day,” said Callis.

*** UPDATE 2 *** The DCCC has reported paying for about $200K in ads blasting Rodney Davis, so despite the Politico report they haven’t completely withdrawn yet. Many thanks to a commenter.

*** UPDATE 3 *** From the Davis campaign…

1. DCCC was on record saying they were staying in Champaign-Springfield with their initial three week ad reservation. They are currently in the second week of that run. This reservation has been on the books for months, so the money put down this week is nothing new. This reservation has DCCC on Champaign-Springfield until 10/20.

“But the DCCC official pointed out that it will continue to advertise for Callis on Champaign, Ill., television for at least three weeks in October.”

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/gateway-to-dc/democrats-pulling-air-support-for-callis-house-campaign-on-st/article_37b9439a-322a-5d56-b6ee-e469f61d3285.html

2. That same P-D story points out the DCCC reservation pulls in STL market.

“the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has decided to pull October advertising dollars on St. Louis TV it had set aside for Democrat Ann Callis, who is challenging Illinois’ 13th District Republican Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville.”

3. It was reported last week by Roll Call that House Majority PAC, cancelled reservations in STL market targeted for IL13

http://atr.rollcall.com/elections-2014-house-majority-pac-cuts-house-races/

4. DCCC still has a reservation in STL for 10/28-11/3 and HMP still has a reservation for Champaign-Springfield for 10/28-11/3. Of course, as the DCCC spokesman said, they are changing weekly.

5. Finally, our media folks confirm today that House Majority PAC has cancelled their reservation in Champaign-Springfield market for 10/21 to 10/27.

So, we have had DCCC pulls in the STL market and HMP pulls in STL and Champaign-Springfield markets, with certainly the potential for more pulls. Anyway you slice it, not good for them.