GOP yanks funding for 'Putin's favorite congressman' Rohrabacher as campaign collapses

The Republican Party's top funding group for congressional races will not spend money to support two Orange County Republicans.

The Congressional Leadership Fund is responsible for gathering and dispersing multi-million-dollar checks from the GOP's biggest donors and will spend $12 million on cable television ads in Southern California.

However, Dana Rohrabacher and Mimi Walters from suburban Orange County will not get any ad buys on their behalf, the Los Angles Times reports.

Rohrabacher is famous for his pro-Russian views and has been called "Putin's favorite congressman."

As the GOP struggles with how to spend its money, suburban California Republicans are at great risk, the paper reports, "because of the state’s exorbitant advertising costs."

"Money saved in the costly Los Angeles media market can be spread over several contests in other states that may be considered more winnable," the Times writes.

A veteran Republican strategist said the cuts mean the party is worried about keeping a majority.

“When you’re these national committees and you’ve got problems in the suburbs of Dallas, Kansas City, Chicago, Philadelphia, you’ve got to start making decisions on where you can most effectively spend,” he said.