A super PAC closely aligned with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reserving $51 million in ad space this fall to protect the new Democratic majority, according to Politico.
But all of the markets targeted by House Majority PAC serve multiple purposes with competitive House seats also residing in states that will be critical to both the presidential race and, in some cases, battle for control of the Senate. Those states include Michigan, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Texas. The aggressive ad buy is also the first of its kind among all the House-affiliated committees and outside groups.
“It’s more important than ever to keep the Democratic House majority,” Abby Curran Horrell, the PAC’s executive director, said in a statement to Politico. “The 2020 election will be unlike any before it, presenting unique challenges and circumstances that make it even more important for our organization to take early steps that enable us to protect and expand the House majority.”
Here's the markets/buys, as provided by Politico:
- Minneapolis ($6.8 million);
- Philadelphia ($6.1 million);
- Detroit ($4.5 million);
- Atlanta ($4.5 million);
- Las Vegas ($3.5 million);
- Miami ($3.3 million);
- Houston ($2.2 million);
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa ($2.2 million);
- Boston ($2 million), covering areas of New Hampshire;
- San Antonio ($1.6 million);
- Des Moines, Iowa ($1.4 million);
- Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ($1.4 million), covering the district of Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright.
An additional $1 million in ad reservations covers districts represented by Democratic Virginia members Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria.
On Monday, the Democratic National Committee also began its digital push for the fall, reserving $22 million in YouTube ads across 14 states, according to the New York Times. The buy came several weeks after billionaire and former presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg transferred $18 million from his campaign fund to the DNC's battleground state program, though DNC officials said the new funds weren't specifically used for the new digital push.