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| © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado. |
By James Arkin, POLITICO
Senate Republicans' campaign arm booked its first major TV advertising campaign Monday, starting this summer across seven states, as the party gears up for the fight to protect its majority.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is investing $33 million in ads in seven races — six with GOP incumbents — starting as soon as June, according to details shared exclusively with POLITICO. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber but are facing a map that largely puts them on defense, with far more GOP incumbents than Democrats up for reelection in states that are expected to be competitive.
The airtime is booked in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Montana and North Carolina, all states with Republican incumbents, as well as in Michigan, one of the few battleground states this year where Democrats are on defense. The early TV buy is the largest initial reservation in the committee's history and reflects how expensive the battleground races are likely to be.
The NRSC is also booking early to exploit its cash advantage over its Democratic counterpart. The NRSC had $30.4 million cash on hand at the close of the last reporting period at the end of February, according to Federal Election Commission reports, compared to $19.9 million for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Kevin McLaughlin, the executive director of the NRSC, signaled that the investment would lean heavily on attack ads aiming to define Democratic challengers, whom he said in a statement to POLITICO "have led a charmed life" thus far.
“This historic NRSC investment will expose every [Democratic] candidates’ fealty to the socialism-loving extremists running their party and lay waste to the fictional, slick, focus-grouped alter egos created for them by ... dark money groups," McLaughlin said. "The stakes have never been higher, and the contrast has never been more stark. Buckle your chin straps, and put in your mouth guards. It’s going to be a wild ride."
The reservations from the committee's independent-expenditure unit largely overlap with those made in recent weeks by the top Republican and Democratic super PACs focused on Senate races, though with several additional states included.
The largest investment is in North Carolina, where the NRSC is spending $7.3 million starting July 5 in the race between GOP Sen. Thom Tillis and Democrat Cal Cunningham, which is expected to be the most expensive in the nation. Super PACs for each party have already reserved nearly $50 million combined in fall ads in the state.
In Colorado, the committee is spending $6.4 million to boost first-term Sen. Cory Gardner, who was the NRSC chairman during the 2018 cycle. That investment begins July 8. Gardner is likely to face former two-term Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is the favorite in the June Democratic primary.
The committee is also spending $5.7 million in Arizona starting June 1. GOP Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the chamber last year after losing the state's 2018 race, is running to complete the term and faces Democrat Mark Kelly, the best-funded Senate candidate in any race.
Other reservations include $5.1 million in Maine, where Sen. Susan Collins is running for a fifth term, and $2.6 million in Iowa, where first-term Sen. Joni Ernst is on the ballot. Both reservations begin in early June, while the $2.8 million the committee has reserved in Montana for the race between Sen. Steve Daines and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock begins in early September.
The sole offensive opportunity for Republicans included in the initial TV reservation is Michigan, where Republican John James, who lost the state's 2018 Senate race, is running against first-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
Notably absent from the initial reservations are Alabama, which is Republicans' best pickup opportunity this cycle as Democratic Sen. Doug Jones runs for a full term in the deep-red state, and Georgia, where both GOP-held Senate seats are on the ballot.
See more at POLITICO
Senate Republicans' campaign arm booked its first major TV advertising campaign Monday, starting this summer across seven states, as the party gears up for the fight to protect its majority.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is investing $33 million in ads in seven races — six with GOP incumbents — starting as soon as June, according to details shared exclusively with POLITICO. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber but are facing a map that largely puts them on defense, with far more GOP incumbents than Democrats up for reelection in states that are expected to be competitive.
The airtime is booked in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Montana and North Carolina, all states with Republican incumbents, as well as in Michigan, one of the few battleground states this year where Democrats are on defense. The early TV buy is the largest initial reservation in the committee's history and reflects how expensive the battleground races are likely to be.
The NRSC is also booking early to exploit its cash advantage over its Democratic counterpart. The NRSC had $30.4 million cash on hand at the close of the last reporting period at the end of February, according to Federal Election Commission reports, compared to $19.9 million for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Kevin McLaughlin, the executive director of the NRSC, signaled that the investment would lean heavily on attack ads aiming to define Democratic challengers, whom he said in a statement to POLITICO "have led a charmed life" thus far.
“This historic NRSC investment will expose every [Democratic] candidates’ fealty to the socialism-loving extremists running their party and lay waste to the fictional, slick, focus-grouped alter egos created for them by ... dark money groups," McLaughlin said. "The stakes have never been higher, and the contrast has never been more stark. Buckle your chin straps, and put in your mouth guards. It’s going to be a wild ride."
The reservations from the committee's independent-expenditure unit largely overlap with those made in recent weeks by the top Republican and Democratic super PACs focused on Senate races, though with several additional states included.
The largest investment is in North Carolina, where the NRSC is spending $7.3 million starting July 5 in the race between GOP Sen. Thom Tillis and Democrat Cal Cunningham, which is expected to be the most expensive in the nation. Super PACs for each party have already reserved nearly $50 million combined in fall ads in the state.
In Colorado, the committee is spending $6.4 million to boost first-term Sen. Cory Gardner, who was the NRSC chairman during the 2018 cycle. That investment begins July 8. Gardner is likely to face former two-term Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is the favorite in the June Democratic primary.
The committee is also spending $5.7 million in Arizona starting June 1. GOP Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the chamber last year after losing the state's 2018 race, is running to complete the term and faces Democrat Mark Kelly, the best-funded Senate candidate in any race.
Other reservations include $5.1 million in Maine, where Sen. Susan Collins is running for a fifth term, and $2.6 million in Iowa, where first-term Sen. Joni Ernst is on the ballot. Both reservations begin in early June, while the $2.8 million the committee has reserved in Montana for the race between Sen. Steve Daines and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock begins in early September.
The sole offensive opportunity for Republicans included in the initial TV reservation is Michigan, where Republican John James, who lost the state's 2018 Senate race, is running against first-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
Notably absent from the initial reservations are Alabama, which is Republicans' best pickup opportunity this cycle as Democratic Sen. Doug Jones runs for a full term in the deep-red state, and Georgia, where both GOP-held Senate seats are on the ballot.
See more at POLITICO
