McConnell-linked super PAC reserves $24M in fall TV ads

A super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reserved $24 million in its first round of fall TV ads in three marquee Senate battlegrounds states.

The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) will be running ads in Missouri and North Dakota, where Republicans will be trying to flip seats in two states that President Trump won by double digits in 2016.

SLF reserved $10.5 million in Missouri, where it is looking to topple Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), who is expected to face Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) in the fall. Trump won Missouri by nearly 20 points.

The super PAC booked $2.3 million in North Dakota, which Trump carried by nearly 36 points. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D) is set to square off against Rep. Kevin Cramer (R).

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McCaskill and Cramer are top targets for Republicans, as the party looks to expand on its slim 51-seat majority. Democrats have a tough Senate map where they’re defending about two dozen seats — including 10 states that Trump won — while Republicans only need to protect eight seats.

But Repulicans also face a challenging year since the president’s party typically loses seats in his first midterm election.

SLF will also spend $11.2 million in Nevada, where they playing defense for Sen. Dean Heller (R), who’s considered the most vulnerable GOP senator up for reelection. Trump lost Nevada by more than 2 points. Heller is facing Rep. Jacky Rosen (D) in November.

The ads will start running after Labor Day, and SLF is expected to make additional multimillion-dollar ad buys as November draws closer.

The Washington Examiner first reported on SLF’s ad reservations.

The Senate Majority PAC (SMP), a PAC with ties to Democratic leadership, announced earlier this month that it’s reserving nearly $80 million in general election ads across nine states with top Senate races.

Those include six of the 10 states that Trump carried: Florida, Missouri, Indiana, West Virginia, North Dakota and Montana. SMP is also reserving ads in three of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities: Nevada, Arizona and Tennessee. SMP didn’t disclose the spending breakdown.