Senate Republicans' strangely uneven spending map

That dynamic is the result of poor fundraising from some key candidates and the party’s reliance on fickle big donors to close the gap. The playing field is ripe with inviting targets, but the advertising from the GOP and its allies is heavily lopsided instead of spread across them. And some of the places where they’re more involved are not the most obvious pickup opportunities.

Instead, a combination of individual candidate strengths and weaknesses, donors’ preferences, and targeting by special interests has created a highly uneven playing field and a clear picture of a party that’s fallen badly behind in individual fundraising.

Among the disparities:

- Republicans and their allies are spending more money in a single state, Pennsylvania, than in Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona combined.

- In fact, the GOP is spending 2.3 times as much to help former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick oust a strong Democratic incumbent in Pennsylvania as in Michigan, a similarly purple state that has an open seat.

- More money is going into defending Sen. Ted Cruz’s Texas seat, which is considered in play but not highly at risk, than in three Senate races in presidential battlegrounds.

- In Arizona, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) alone is spending more than all the Republican advertisers, including outside groups, combined.
GOP super PACs and mega-donors are putting more money into former Gov. Larry Hogan’s uphill Senate bid in blue-leaning Maryland than in the Sun Belt targets.



https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/06/senate-republican-ad-spending-map-uneven-00182625