by Mary Lou Masters
A super PAC committed to electing Senate Democrats is dropping tens of millions in ad reservations into Montana and Nevada’s key 2024 races, Politico reported Monday.
The Senate Majority PAC will spend an initial $27 million and $36 million in Montana and Nevada, respectively, in its first round of ad buys for the fall ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, according to Politico. The ad reservations will begin airing in the summer to help the contested reelection bids of Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.
“Democrats are in a strong position to hold our Senate majority with incumbent Senators who have always put their constituents first and Republican opponents who are wildly out of touch with voters,” JB Poersch, the Senate Majority PAC’s president, told Politico. “With more state reservations to come, these initial ad buys in Montana and Nevada build on our strong momentum kicking off the new year and help put us in a position to win.”
The Senate Majority PAC raised over $37 million in the first half of 2023, with $24.7 million cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. The super PAC’s finances for the second part of the year will become available on Wednesday.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm has recruited former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy to run against Tester, and decorated Army veteran Sam Brown to challenge Rosen. GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale, who ran against Tester in 2018 and lost by 3.5 points, is also weighing another run for the seat.
The most recent survey on the Montana general election, conducted by Emerson College in early October, found Tester up by 4 points against Sheehy. An early December Future Majority PAC/Change Research poll indicated Brown was down by only 1 point against Rosen.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, announced on Jan. 8 that it would be spending eight figures in ground game operations to help reelect Tester and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
Both Tester and Brown’s seats are characterized by The Cook Political Report as in the “Toss Up” category, while Rosen is under the “Lean D” label.
The NRSC is remaining neutral in the Republican primary in Ohio where several prominent GOP candidates are running, including the Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno.
An Emerson College survey conducted in mid-November found Brown beating Moreno by 11 points, as well as Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan by 5 and 3 points, respectively.
Democrats are facing an increasingly challenging reelection map for 2024 in several other states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona.
– – –
Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Sen. John Tester” by Sen. John Tester and “Sen. Jacky Rosen” is by Sen. Jacky Rosen.
