Congressional Republicans will make a final attempt to gain a midterm spending boost against Democrats after an appeals court dealt them a blow by ruling coordinated ad buys between political parties and joint fundraising committees are not entitled to cheaper candidate rates.
The Monday decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which came in response to a Hail Mary legal challenge from Democrats, reverses part of a Supreme Court ruling in June that allowed unlimited coordinated spending between political parties and candidates.
Most importantly, it meant the parties could open the spending floodgates to access less expensive airwaves offered to candidates and help GOP candidates offset fundraising deficits to Democrats.
The 4th Circuit case was led by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, all of whom hold significant cash advantages over their opponents in their Senate campaigns.
The Senate GOP campaign arm, one of the plaintiffs, will appeal the lower court ruling to the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.
“This was an incorrect ruling that ignores decades of precedent,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Joanna Rodriguez. “We plan on appealing, and this is the first word, not the last.”
The Supreme Court ruling that prompted this case stemmed from a lawsuit led by the NRSC and its House counterpart. It was set to particularly buoy Senate Republicans, who are often outraised by Democratic rivals in high-profile races. But the appeals court determined the parties and the political committees they create with candidates — joint fundraising committees — cannot access the cheaper ad buys.
“We conclude that the [lowest unit charge] requirement and campaign finance statutes are clear that neither political parties nor joint fundraising committees with non-candidate members can be entitled to the LUC,” the appeal court ruling said.
The timing of the ruling is auspicious for Democrats, as the lowest unit charge for candidates becomes available 60 days before an election — Sept. 4 — per federal law.
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Democrats lauded the ruling, with their House and Senate campaign arms saying that their candidates’ “strong grassroots fundraising … remains a fundamental advantage.”
If Republicans do prevail with the Supreme Court just months before the November elections, the brunt of the financial implications will apply to the next cycle and supercharge the 2028 elections.