Charles Koch group boosts GOP Senate candidates in Pennsylvania, Nevada

Americans For Prosperity (AFP) Action, the super PAC wing of the conservative network led by billionaire Charles Koch, launched a seven-figure ad buy Monday to back GOP candidates for the Senate in Pennsylvania and Nevada, the group confirmed to The Hill.

AFP Action is dishing out $1.6 million for ads highlighting GOP candidates Sam Brown, who is looking to unseat Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) in Nevada; and Dave McCormick, vying for Sen. Bob Casey’s (D) seat in Pennsylvania. 

Brown and McCormick are the favorites to win GOP primaries in their respective states.

The Koch-aligned network said the set of ads highlights the two candidates’ history of service and policy priorities. 

Brown, a retired Army captain, launched his second bid for Senate last summer after losing in the GOP primary during the last cycle. 

“For too long, Jacky Rosen has chosen to side with Chuck Schumer and her party bosses over Nevada’s best interests,” said Ronnie Najarro, AFP Action senior adviser for Nevada, in a statement shared with The Hill. “A decorated veteran and life-long public servant, Sam Brown will be the U.S. Senator that the Battle Born State deserves.”

The 30-second ad said Brown will “fight inflation,” “stand strong against reckless spending,” “unleash American energy” and “secure the border,” with the narrator closing it out with, “Sam Brown served you before, he will serve you again.”  

A spokesperson for Rosen’s reelection campaign said Brown is “a MAGA extremist whose deeply unpopular agenda includes banning abortion, gutting Social Security and Medicare, and raising health care costs for millions of Americans.”

“So it’s no surprise he’s relying on the Koch network and out-of-state billionaires to prop up his third losing campaign,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “Jacky Rosen is a bipartisan and independent leader focused on getting things done for Nevada, and voters will reelect her this November to continue fighting for them.”

One of AFP Action’s ads for McCormick, the former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, goes after Casey and a variety of policy issues in the U.S. 

The narrator of the 30-second ad, titled “Three Million,” stated, “Bob Casey has been in Washington for 17 years. During that time, taxpayers have paid Casey nearly $3 million.”

“And what did we get in return? Sky high inflation, a $34 trillion national debt, a wide open southern border, radical anti-energy policies killing Pennsylvania jobs,” the narrator continued. “Bob Casey has failed Pennsylvania. He deserves a pink slip, not another term.”

In another AFP Action-backed ad, titled “Keystone Agenda,” the network highlights McCormick’s service in the Army and lays out his policy plans, including on border security and expanding energy production.

“Pennsylvanians need a new leader in the Senate. Dave McCormick understands where inflation comes from: runaway government spending. He’s ready to be part of the solution by putting an end to Washington waste,” said Ashley Klingensmith, AFP Action senior adviser for Pennsylvania, in a statement. 

Casey’s campaign blasted the ads in a statement to The Hill.

“David McCormick’s billionaire backers are attacking Senator Casey to distract from McCormick’s disqualifying record of outsourcing American jobs, investing billions in China, and screwing over Pennsylvania workers,” said Maddy McDaniel, a spokesperson for Bob Casey for Senate. “The truth is that Bob Casey is one of the most effective lawmakers in the Senate whose hard work will create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the Commonwealth and is leading the fight to lower costs and fight fentanyl at the border.”  

Casey is leading McCormick by nearly 10 points in the Keystone State, according to an Emerson College/The Hill poll published last week. 

The more than $1 million ad buy comes a day after AFP Action announced it will halt spending for Nikki Haley’s GOP presidential bid and instead focus its resources on U.S. Senate and House races.

Updated at 2:25 p.m.