Hackett attracted national attention in newspapers, and expenditures by both parties at the national level. The National Republican Congressional Committee announced on July 28 it was spending $265,000 for television ads in the Cincinnati market, covering the western part of the district, and $250,000 for ads in the Huntington, West Virginia, market, covering the eastern half. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) responded with commercials noting that Schmidt had voted to raise the sales tax by 20% and the excise tax on gasoline by 30 percent when she was in the legislature. A DCCC mailing to voters reiterated these charges under the headline "Who Voted for the Taft Sales Tax Increase—the Largest in Ohio History?" and asked "can we trust Jean Schmidt to protect middle-class families in Washington?"