Democratic super PAC pulls remaining ads from Colorado Senate race

A top Democratic super PAC is pulling its remaining ads from the Colorado Senate race as the party boasts increasing confidence that it will flip the seat held by Sen. Cory Gardner (R). 

Senate Majority PAC, the top Democratic super PAC dedicated to Senate races, confirmed to The Hill it is scrapping its $1.2 million television buy in Colorado and is planning to use the funds elsewhere. The group has already spent $15 million in the state this cycle.

The move is the latest sign that Democrats feel good about former Gov. John Hickenlooper’s (D) chances of knocking off Gardner in a state that has leaned Democratic in recent cycles.

A KUSA-SurveyUSA poll released earlier this month found Hickenlooper with a 9-point advantage over the incumbent, and the former governor is in a strong financial position heading into Election Day after raising $22.6 million for his Senate bid in the state in the third quarter. Gardner raised about $7 million in the same period. 

“We’ve been encouraged for a long time about the race that Governor Hickenlooper is running. Given his strong fundraising and multiple public polls showing him ahead by double digits, we believe Governor Hickenlooper is in good shape heading into the final stretch,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Matt Corridoni told The Hill. 

Gardner is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Republican senators running for reelection in a cycle where Democrats are on offense. Arizona is also considered a top flip opportunity for Democrats, where former astronaut Mark Kelly has a strong fundraising and polling edge over Sen. Martha McSally (R).

Democrats are also eyeing seats in Maine, North Carolina, Iowa, Georgia, South Carolina and elsewhere. 

Still, Republicans are sticking with Gardner. The Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate Majority PAC’s Republican counterpart, boosted its spending for him in the Centennial State by $1 million.

Democrats must flip a net of three or four seats to win control of the Senate depending on who wins the White House.

In a sign of the party’s mushrooming paths to the majority, Senate Majority PAC has recently announced new spending in traditionally ruby red states like Kansas, Texas and South Carolina, all of which have increasingly competitive Senate races. 

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates the Colorado Senate race as “lean” Democrat.