Eastside Democrat Darcy Burner is already on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue list, which means she’ll be getting an unspecified amount of financial and strategic support from D.C. Dems this year. (Last cycle the average Red to Blue candidate received about $400,000 from the DCCC.)

But here’s a list I’m told Burner didn’t make: The list of 31 Congressional races, complied by the Associated Press, in which the DCCC has already reserved air time for commercials set to go up in September and October.

Now, I’m also told that this list represents only an initial ad buy, so there may not be any meaning to glean from Burner being left out this time around. Or there may be.

Either way, it’s worth keeping an eye on the outside ad money because the race in the 8th Congressional District, like a lot of other races around the country, has historically been heavily influenced by ad buys made in the last few months of the campaign. And every time you ask Democrats in the 8th why it didn’t work for them the last time around, you always hear the same thing: Not enough help from D.C.

Will Burner and her allies be able to compete with the Republican commercials that are sure to air as the fall campaign draws to a close? Based on today’s list, that’s still unclear.