Rep. Tierney Seeks 'People's Pledge' Ad Ban In 6th

Following the U.S. Senate race's lead, Rep. John Tierney is seeking to institute the "People's Pledge" and ban third-party ads in his 6th Congressional District race.

The Democratic incumbent on Monday challenged his Republican opponent, Richard Tisei, to the same deal Sen. Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren agreed to in January.

NPR's Tovia Smith detailed the Senate race's "People's Pledge" Sunday:

Under the pact, a candidate who benefits from a third-party ad has to pay a penalty to a charity chosen by the other. As the candidates wrote in a letter to third-party groups: "Your spending will damage the candidate you intend to help."

The Boston Globe reports that Tisei did not commit to the ad ban on Monday, but "said he would sit down with Tierney to discuss an agreement."

As the AP reports, "Tisei has already urged Tierney to limit the amount of donations that political action committees can make to either candidate."

[5/8 Update: The AP reports: "Tisei is directing his campaign manager to begin negotiating with Tierney about ways to limit the influence of outside money in the race."]

An earlier AP review of campaign finance records found that Tierney had raised 42 percent of his contributions this election cycle from PACs, compared to 5 percent for Tisei.

Overall, Tisei raised $30,000 more in the first quarter than Tierney.

As we've reported before, many national Republicans view Tisei as the party’s best prospect for winning a congressional seat in Massachusetts.

In her piece, Tovia reported on how the "People's Pledge" has deterred negative ads and led to an improved campaign tone in the Brown-Warren Senate race.