Democrats Pour Millions Into Deep-Red Districts With Less Than a Week Until Election Day

With six days to go until election day, Democrats are making last-minute ad buys to the tune of millions of dollars in several deep-red House districts, a sign of confidence in the final sprint. They are even investing in Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s New York district which President Trump won by 21 points two years ago. Republicans have had a significant cash advantage through the midterm cycle, with a more than $100 million gap between the major party committees and outside spending groups. Democratic candidates have been able to raise far more money for their individual campaigns, which allows candidates to buy ad time at much lower rates, however, meaning Republicans have to spend far more for ad time via outside groups which are not afforded the same rights to lower ad costs. Democrats have been spending their cash in a much more aggressive way, however. Republicans have had to dial back ad spending in Senate races in states like Georgia and North Carolina in order to bail out their red state incumbents like Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas and Senator Darline Graham of South Carolina. House Republicans, too, have abandoned some competitive districts in order to shore up their home turf — a move that many saw as an attempt to stop the possibility of a “blue tsunami” that could sweep up dozens of House districts across the country. On Wednesday, House Democrats’ main outside group, House Majority PAC, filed millions of dollars worth of ad time in districts that heavily favor Republicans, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad spending. In Nebraska’s First District alone, Democrats are investing more than $1 million to boost their candidate, Christopher Backemeyer, who previously served as a national security and foreign policy advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris. Mr. Trump carried the First District by 12 points in 2024, while the incumbent lawmaker, Congressman Mike Flood, won re-election by more than 20 points. House Majority PAC is also investing north of $800,000 across two deep-red districts in Florida, where Republicans redrew congressional maps earlier this year in an attempt to hand the GOP additional seats. That effort may fall flat, however, as Hispanic voters shift heavily back toward Democrats. In Florida’s Seventh District, HMP is dropping $507,000 in the Orlando market to protect the sitting Democrat, Congressman Darren Soto, whose district was redrawn in order to make it far easier for Republicans to flip. Before redistricting, Ms. Harris carried Mr. Soto’s current district by about three points. Now, the new district lines would have been carried by Mr. Trump in 2024 by more than 17 points. Mr. Soto and his Republican opponent are in a tight race, according to two internal polls from Mr. Soto’s campaign which shows the race as a tie. The Cook Political Report has Mr. Soto’s new district as a “likely Republican” win. In Florida’s Seventh District, HMP is now spending more than $300,000 in support of Bale Dalton, a retired Navy captain and the former chief of staff at NASA during the Biden administration. Mr. Dalton has been endorsed by a former Republican U.S. senator from Florida, Mel Martinez. Mr. Trump carried the district by 13 points in 2024. The reddest district in which Democrats filed ad spends on Wednesday, however, was in the North Country of New York. For more than a decade, the 21st District has been represented by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who is now retiring after being considered as a running mate for Mr. Trump in 2024 and after running a brief campaign for governor. Ms. Stefanik, who had her nomination to be the American ambassador to the UN pulled for fear that her seat might flip in a special election, says she is retiring to spend more time with her family. Mr. Trump won the 21st district by 21 points in 2024, and Ms. Stefanik was re-elected by a margin of 24 points. Now, the Republican nominee, businessman Anthony Constantino, is in a tight race with the Democratic candidate, farmer Blake Gendebien. The House Majority PAC filed an ad buy worth about $300,000 on Wednesday. A poll from Siena University earlier this month found Mr. Gendebien leading Mr. Constantino by four points, while another poll from HMP found Mr. Constantino up two points.

Democrats Pour Millions Into Deep-Red Districts With Less Than a Week Until Election Day

Democrats Pour Millions Into Deep-Red Districts With Less Than a Week Until Election Day

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