Democrats Ramp Up Spending In Two States After Pulling Money From Georgia, North Carolina

Conlan Houston, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Senate Democrats’ top super PAC spent nearly $7 million Wednesday in two competitive states after yanking funds from states where candidates hold comfortable leads.

The Senate Majority PAC added $3.7 million to support Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and $3 million in Maine to help Democratic Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson, Semafor first reported. The campaign arm cut spending in North Carolina and Georgia because former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff held significant leads in the polls.

El-Sayed led in the polls by an average of 2.7 points as of Wednesday against Republican Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, according to RealClearPolling averages. Jackson led by 1.3 points against Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

Democrats spent in states that were traditionally safe for Republicans, including Kansas, Iowa and Texas, where Democrats could potentially pick up seats. This caused Republicans to ramp up spending in those states and pause funds in North Carolina and Georgia.

The Schumer-aligned PAC removed roughly $1.1 million in North Carolina advertisement buys while Cooper led Republican North Carolina Senate nominee and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley by several points.

Whatley’s campaign had no future linear advertisements booked, according to AdImpact Politics. Whatley’s campaign spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the pause was temporary and that the campaign would be back on air for their “closing message.”

“It’s a temporary pause and we’ll be back on the air shortly with our closing message that may or may not ask voters why does our elderly opponent refuse to answer basic questions about his health and ability to serve in the US Senate,” Whatley spokesperson DJ Griffin said. “But for now, we are better targeting our resources to focus on what NC is famous for – voters who decide late and typically break for Republicans, as frequently noted by Candidate Cooper. We are confident we have the resources needed to win the only poll that matters – Election Day in November.”

The Senate Leadership Fund, the Republicans’ top Senate campaign arm, dedicated $14 million in Kansas, which has not had a Democratic senator since 1939, and $5 million to help Republican South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham. Republican PACs spent over $200 million in support of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who trailed Democratic Texas Senate nominee James Talarico by an average of 2.6 points, according to RealClearPolling.

The Senate Majority PAC dropped $5 million into the Kansas Senate race, where Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall faces a competitive race against Democratic Kansas Senate nominee Adam Hamilton. Marshall and Hamilton were tied as of Tuesday, according to RealClear Polling.