A major super PAC with ties to House GOP leadership is reserving about $48 million in general election ads as it looks to protect Republicans’ majority during a tough cycle.
The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) announced that $38 million of that investment will be for television ads on both broadcast and cable, while the other $10 million will be used for digital ads. The super PAC will be up with those fall ads in a total of 30 districts.
The initial ad buy is mostly for incumbent protection, with the addition of three open-seat races. One of those open seats is a key pickup opportunity for Republicans following the retirement of Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), who won reelection in 2016 despite President Trump winning the district by double digits.
{mosads}The ads will run in some of the cycle’s top House races as Democrats look to flip 24 seats to take back the lower chamber.
“CLF’s historic and aggressive fundraising pace has allowed us to place larger advertising buys earlier than ever,” said CLF executive director Corry Bliss.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates CLF’s continued commitment to doing things differently. By reserving advertising early, investing unprecedented resources in digital, and running the country’s only House-focused national field program, CLF is prepared to lead the way in defending the House Republican majority.”
CLF has already been a significant power player this cycle, particularly in special elections where the super PAC has spent millions to boost Republicans. The group had success in Georgia and Montana’s high-profile special elections last year. It also poured in millions of dollars to help the GOP nominee in Pennsylvania’s recent special election, but Democrats still pulled off a huge upset victory.
The super PAC has also heavily invested in a field operation, which includes offices set up in 31 districts around the country for voter mobilization efforts.
For the fall, CLF is spending a similar amount on advertising as its Democratic counterpart, House Majority PAC (HMP). HMP announced in March that it reserved $43 million in fall TV ads. Those ads will run in the final weeks of the midterms across 33 media markets in 20 states and Washington, D.C.
Here’s the full list of CLF’s ad buys in each district:
GOP Rep. Jeff Denham (California’s 10th District): $2.35 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. David Valadao (California’s 21st District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. Steve Knight (California’s 25th District): $2.1 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Mimi Walters (California’s 45th District): $2.3 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Mike Coffman (Colorado’s 6th District): $2.3 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Brian Mast (Florida’s 18th District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo (Florida’s 26th District): $1.67 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Peter Roskam (Illinois’s 6th District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. Mike Bost (Illinois’s 12th District): $2 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Rod Blum (Iowa’s 1st District): digital ads only
Open seat (Kansas’s 2nd District): $1.25 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder (Kansas’s 3rd District): $1.7 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Andy Barr (Kentucky’s 6th District): $1.8 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin (Maine’s 2nd District): $1.2 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Mike Bishop (Michigan’s 8th District): $2.2 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen (Minnesota’s 3rd District): $2.3 million on TV, also on digital
Open seat (Minnesota’s 8th District): $2.6 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Don Bacon (Nebraska’s 2nd District): $1.6 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Tom MacArthur (New Jersey’s 3rd District): $1.4 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Leonard Lance (New Jersey’s 7th District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney (New York’s 22nd District): $900,000 on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. John Katko (New York’s 24th District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. Ted Budd (North Carolina’s 13th District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania’s 8th District): $1.4 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Keith Rothfus (Pennsylvania’s 12th District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. John Culberson (Texas’s 7th District): $2.45 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Will Hurd (Texas’s 23rd District): $2.1 million on TV, also on digital
GOP Rep. Scott Taylor (Virginia’s 2nd District): digital ads only
GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Washington’s 5th District): digital ads only
Open seat (Washington’s 8th District): $2.1 million on TV, also on digital