The National Republican Senatorial Committee has canceled its fall cable advertising reservations related to the Ohio Senate race totaling more than $700,000.
According to AdImpact, NRSC has canceled its entire cable reservation in one of the most competitive election campaigns in the country, in which ads were scheduled to run between August 31 and Election Day. The ads were designed to benefit Republican candidate Bernie Moreno and hurt incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
The campaign committee had already relied on the support of allied super PACs, which will continue to pump money into the campaign. The Senate Leadership Fund, the committee’s largest allied super PAC, and its affiliates have bought millions of dollars worth of ads in swing states across the country.
“This money can be spent more efficiently through hybrid ads that reach the candidate share. NRSC relies on SLF and other outside groups to spread the super PAC message in Ohio and Montana,” said a source familiar with NRSC strategy.
The Senate’s campaign arm stressed that Ohio is still a top opportunity for newcomers.
“The historic unpopularity of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden in Ohio means advertising dollars can be spent more efficiently on hybrid ads,” they wrote in a post on X. “Ohio remains a top opportunity for Senate Republicans, and the NRSC will continue to invest accordingly.”
NRSC had already taken a similar approach in Montana, where outside PACs had already booked airtime. In Pennsylvania, the Keystone Renewal PAC had booked millions of ads for GOP candidate Dave McCormick, and another super PAC is poised to spend money on behalf of Republican Larry Hogan in Maryland.
The Ohio election is the first non-presidential election in 2024 where spending exceeds $300 million, and it is one of the most expensive elections the political ad tracking company has ever tracked.
Before the NRSC withdrew its advertising spending, Ohio was the only state where Republicans spent more on campaign ads than Democrats. They were scheduled to spend $158.4 million, while Democrats spent $152 million. But now Democrats have spent more on future ads: $86.2 million, while Republicans have spent $83.3 million.
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Brown (D-OH) is doing better in the polls than his Republican challenger, while former President Donald Trump has a much larger lead in the same state. The polls average Brown five points ahead of Moreno.
The bulk of the advertising money comes from outside groups such as the Democratic Duty and Honor group, which invested $28.7 million, accounting for 51 percent of Democratic spending, while the Republican group One Nation spent $27.6 million, accounting for 82 percent of Republican spending. Brown’s campaign has spent $27.6 million, Moreno’s $875,000.
