Business group buying $11,000 in online ads for Raye

Kevin Raye has made his National Federation of Independent Business endorsement a centerpiece of his campaign. Now, the NFIB is making its first financial investment in the second district Republican challenger to Democratic Rep. Mike Michaud.

The NFIB is buying $11,000 in online ads to support Raye, according to expenditure reports the group filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.

Raye is one of 17 Republican House candidates benefiting the NFIB’s $1.5 million total online ad buy revealed in Tuesday’s FEC reports.

Polls recently have shown Raye trailing Michaud and Democrats recently called the Raye-Michaud matchup “the race that never was.”

But RNC chairman Reince Preibus said Friday during a visit to Maine that he was optimistic about the GOP’s chances in the state’s Second District. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., echoed the optimism Saturday during a visit to Lewiston. Walden is the deputy chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.