Federal court rules against House Dems in ad dispute

Source: msn/Axios

11h


A federal court ruled against the campaign arm of House Democrats on Thursday, allowing Senate Republicans to continue a disputed campaign advertising tactic.

Why it matters: Democrats were asking a federal court to block Republicans from placing certain ads just days before the election, which would have bludgeoned conservatives' advertising plans.

Cash-strapped Senate Republicans have resorted to a campaign finance loophole to spend advertising dollars more efficiently.

Democrats alleged that the way the GOP has been financing their ads is illegal, but a court was not convinced that it needed to step in to stop the practice.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) deadlocked on whether the ads were illegal last month, also allowing the ads to continue.

The big picture: Democratic Senate candidates have trounced their GOP competitors in fundraising this cycle, meaning Republican organizations and Super PACs have turned to cutting-edge ad tactics to spread their money around.

The GOP has been making ads that look mostly like attack ads, but which are paid for by joint fundraising committees as if they are fundraising ads. Democrats argued that this violates contribution limits to federal candidates.

A federal court ruled the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) did not meet the requirements to obtain a blockage from the court.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/federal-court-rules-against-house-dems-in-ad-dispute/ar-AA1tmFPA