With the election just a month away, Democratic and Republican super PACs are beginning to pull advertising reservations from House races where they either believe their candidates are well-positioned to win or are going to lose.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC linked to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and House Majority PAC, affiliated with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), have both slashed spending in a handful of districts, according to AdImpact.
Democrats are largely cutting money from blue-leaning districts where the party believes its candidates are in a strong position. Republicans, meanwhile, have pulled spending from districts where they no longer appear to believe they can win. The moves allow the super PACs to redirect the money to different districts they believe are a better use.
“HMP and Republicans are in agreement—Democrats are on offense and are taking back the House,” HMP National Press Secretary Katarina Flicker told the Washington Examiner.
Here are the races where the groups have slashed or withdrawn advertising:
Nebraska’s 2nd District
Both the GOP and Democratic super PACs have pulled spending from Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Republicans have cut more than $1.1 million in television ads from the seat.
The Omaha-based district has trended blue in recent years and was one of the toughest seats for Republicans to keep this cycle after Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) announced his retirement. This seat was one of three GOP-held seats that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024.
Democrat Denise Powell is leading Republican Brinker Harding in a spate of recent polls.
New Jersey’s 9th District
AdImpact shows Republicans cutting just under $200,000 from New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District. The seat is held by first-term Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou (D-NJ). CLF denies it pulled money from the race, saying rather that it was just allocated in the New York media market.
In 2024, Pou won the seat by 5 percentage points even as President Donald Trump narrowly carried it by a point over Harris. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the seat to increasingly favor Democrats.
New York’s 19th and 3rd districts
Republicans have also pulled over $1.4 million in broadcast ads in New York’s 19th Congressional District, where Rep. Josh Riley (D-NY) is running for reelection. Riley flipped the seat from Republicans in 2024 and has outraised his GOP challenger, state senator Peter Oberacker, this cycle handily.
New York’s 19th District voted for Harris over Trump by a narrow 1 percentage point in 2024.
AdImpact also shows that Republicans pulled nearly $100,000 from New York’s 3rd Congressional District. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is running for reelection in the seat against former state assemblyman Mike LiPetri. Trump carried the seat narrowly over Harris in 2024.
The GOP money pulled out of New York’s 3rd District is being reallocated to ads in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, where Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) is facing a competitive reelection challenge. Trump carried the seat by 2 points in 2024.
CLF denies it pulled money from New York’s 3rd District, saying rather that it was just allocated in the New York media market.
California’s 48th District
Democrats pulled over $200,000 from California’s 48th Congressional District. The new seat is open after Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) was redrawn by a Democratic gerrymander following the passage of Proposition 50 last year in an effort to create a Democratic pickup opportunity.
Democrat Marni von Wilpert will face Republican Jim Desmond in November. If the seat existed in 2024, it would have voted for Harris by 3 points over Trump.
Michigan’s 8th District
While Republicans still have TV time booked in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, Democrats have pulled nearly $200,000. They say the move is a signal of confidence in Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI).
Rivet is running against Tom Smith, who bested President Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate in the GOP primary, despite having quit the race a month prior.
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The 8th District, which encompasses the communities of Flint, Saginaw, and Bay City, voted narrowly for Trump by 2 points in 2024. At the same time, McDonald Rivet won the seat by 7 points over GOP businessman Paul Junge.
The Washington Examiner reached out to CLF for comment.
