A GOP super PAC is confident that House Republicans can grow their majority on Nov. 5, buying $16 million in advertisements aimed at flipping battleground blue seats while holding onto red ones.
The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) announced Tuesday that at least $13 million of the fall ad buys would be for going “on offense”, with its president, Dan Conston, promising “a dogfight” in the final two months before election day.
The House GOP super PAC had already reserved a whopping $141 million in its first round of ad placements this past May.
The second batch of purchases was first reported by Punchbowl News.
Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) faces the toughest battle, with CLF funneling $3.8 million to attack the three-term congresswoman over the airwaves in the Philadelphia market, which covers much of Wild’s 7th District — which includes the Lehigh Valley and the cities of Allentown and Easton.
GOP state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie is challenging Wild for her seat and the race has been rated a toss-up by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
At least $2.3 million in CLF money is going toward the race for the open seat in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District after Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) retired to run for governor in 2025.
That contest, which will pit Republican Army vet Derrick Anderson against Democrat opponent Eugene Vindman, is currently rated “lean Democrat,” per Cook.
Eugene Vindman and his twin brother, Alexander, were instrumental in starting the 2019 impeachment of former President Donald Trump over a phone call he made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
At least $2 million is being set aside for ads in Detroit and Michigan’s capital city of Lansing for an open-seat race in the Wolverine State’s 7th District between two former state lawmakers: Democrat Curtis Hertel and Republican Tom Barrett.
Michigan’s 8th Congressional District will also be blanketed with $1.8 million in ad buys against former Democratic state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who is going head-to-head with former Trump administration official Paul Junge.
Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) announced his retirement from Congress after serving for more than a decade in DC.
Both Michigan races are rated as toss-ups, according to the Cook Political Report, as are three other key contests that will see a CLF cash infusion.
Those include Ohio’s 9th District, held by Democrat Marcy Kaptur, with $1.1 million in ads bought across the Toledo market; Pennsylvania’s 8th District, repped by Democrat Matt Cartwright, with $180,000 placed in Scranton-based ads; and Colorado’s 8th District, held by Democrat Yadira Caraveo, with $150,000 in Denver ad placements.
CLF is also buying $1.5 million in ads for the Omaha market hitting Democrat Tony Vargas in his 2020 rematch against incumbent GOP Rep. Don Bacon, who has held Nebraska’s 2nd District since 2017.
Another $300,000 will go toward Des Moines, Iowa, ad placements to defend Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), and $275,000 will bolster freshman upstate Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in his fight against Democrat Josh Riley for control of New York’s 19th district.
More than $680,000 is also being split in Norfolk, Va. between defending Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans in Virginia’s 2nd District, and going on offense against Democratic Rep. Don Davis in North Carolina’s 1st District.
Additionally, $2.3 million is being spent on ads out of Washington for various House Republican races.
A CLF spokeswoman added that more ad placements will be announced in the coming weeks.
Currently, Republicans hold 220 House of Representatives seats, while Democrats hold 211 seats, with four vacancies.
