Republicans Move Millions Around the Country in Effort To Stave Off Losses in the House

With less than three weeks until the midterm elections, Republicans are moving money in a way that signals worry about not only losing the House majority, but about suffering one of the worst midterm losses in decades. As of Thursday morning, GOP groups are now pouring cash into House districts that President Trump carried by as many as 23 points less than two years ago. As of Thursday, the Congressional Leadership Fund — House Republicans’ main outside spending group — other national GOP outfits, and entities tied to Mr. Trump have either significantly curtailed or outright canceled future ad reservations in several competitive districts in order to shore up areas that Mr. Trump carried by double-digits in 2024. Major GOP groups are sending that money into what would be considered safe Republican territory. Republicans have had one of the largest cash advantages in American history headed into the midterms, with the gulf between GOP and Democratic party committees and outside spending groups reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. Independent expenditure groups have already spent $2 billion the midterms — more than double what was spent at the same point during the 2018 cycle. According to a source familiar, CLF is canceling all future spending in New Jersey’s 7th congressional district as well as Iowa’s 1st congressional district. Mr. Trump won the New Jersey district by two points in 2024 and carried the Iowa district by eight points that year. The moves by CLF were first reported by the New York Times. A spokesman for CLF declined to comment to the New York Sun, though the president of CLF, Chris Winkelman, told The Times that their spending plans will allow them to hold a majority of at least 218 seats in what is a “difficult” environment. On Wednesday, CLF canceled future spending in Texas’s 28th district, which was redrawn last year in order to make it more favorable to Republicans. The move to cancel millions of dollars in spending was first reported by Punchbowl News. Mr. Trump won the current district lines by seven points in 2024, even though the Democratic representative, Congressman Henry Cuellar, won re-election by more than five points. The new district lines of the 28th district would have been won by Mr. Trump by nearly 11 points. Several other seats are also seeing Republican money flow out. In the midwest, Republican groups will stop spending in Ohio’s 1st congressional district, a redrawn district that Mr. Trump would have carried by three points had the new district lines been in place in 2024. Money will also be cut from Michigan’s 8th district, where Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat, is running against a Republican who had previously suspended his campaign. Ms. McDonald Rivet is considered a strong campaigner, having outperformed the top of the Democratic ticket by nine points in 2024 when Mr. Trump won her district by two points. She won her race by seven points. According to the first AdImpact, CLF also cut funds in California’s 13th district, another district Mr. Trump carried in 2024. Congressman Adam Gray, the incumbent Democrat, won his seat two years ago by fewer than 200 votes, and the redrawing of California’s congressional district lines made the district slightly more favorable to Democrats. Several groups tied to Mr. Trump have reserved ad spending space in districts which were not considered competitive earlier this year. More than $5 million are being spent for Congressman Bill Huizenga, a southeast Michigan congressman in a solidly red district. Republicans have poured more than $2.7 million into Nevada’s 2nd district — the lone district represented by a Republican in the state — while Democratic groups have spent only $16,000. That district could flip to Democrats next month, according to the incumbent outgoing Republican congressman. In Tennessee’s 5th district — one which Mr. Trump carried by more than 23 points in 2024 — Republican outside groups have dropped more than $159,000 to boost the GOP candidate. Democrats, meanwhile, have invested zero dollars. Mr. Trump’s spending groups Safety and Affordability PAC — which is funded by his main super PAC, MAGA Inc. — cut all spending in Nevada’s 3rd district. Mr. Trump narrowly carried the district in 2024. The total ad spending being cut was just about $950,000.Much of the money is being redirected to aid incumbent Republicans in much redder districts, including Congressman Rob Wittman and Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz. Mr. Wittman won re-election by 13 points in 2024, while Ms. De La Cruz won her re-election by 14 points. According to AdImpact, CLF will spend more than $4 million to aid Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick — one of three House Republicans in a district won by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. According to Punchbowl News, the National Republican Congressional Committee is also spending $465,000 on ads for Mr. Fitzpatrick. According to the times, additional CLF funds will also be dispersed to Congressman Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Congressman Brian Steil of Wisconsin. The decision to redirect funds comes as Democrats are feeling especially optimistic about their chances in the midterms. Earlier this month, after the Senate Leadership Fund — the GOP’s Senate super PAC — cut all spending in the North Carolina Senate race in order to redirect funds to Kansas. Democrats quickly followed suit and pulled their future ad reservations, a sign of confidence in their candidate, a popular Democratic former governor, Roy Cooper. Democrats also stopped spending in the Republican-held congressional district covering Omaha, Nebraska — another Harris-won district — after CLF pulled out of the contest. The one cutback Democrats made on Tuesday was in Arizona’s 2nd congressional district, which Mr. Trump carried by double digits in 2024. The House Majority PAC — Democrats’ mirror version of CLF — cut more than $500,000 in spending, though they still plan on spending $2.2 million in the final weeks of the midterms. A spokesman for HMP declined to comment on the spending cut, but highlighted a new ad that the group is running the district.

Republicans Move Millions Around the Country in Effort To Stave Off Losses in the House

Republicans Move Millions Around the Country in Effort To Stave Off Losses in the House

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