Senate Republicans’ largest super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), has announced plans to dump nearly $350 million into Senate battlegrounds for the midterms.
SLF’s sole purpose is to elect Republican senators and retain their MAGA majority in the midterms. In 2024, they poured nearly $300 million into Senate races across the map and helped elect Trump’s Senate majority. Now they’re pumping even more dark money into this year’s midterms… and that $350 million total could still increase.
But the real story isn’t the $350 million -- it’s that the $350 million is only a small fraction of the sums Republicans have on-hand to deploy against Democrats in these midterms.
Looking for a rundown of where that money is going? Let’s go state by state.
Republicans may rely on mega-millionaires and billionaires, but we don’t. 98% of our donations during the 2024 election were for less than $200. If you want to help counter the exorbitant amount of money Republicans are dumping into competitive Senate races, chip in $20 to the DSCC to help flip the Senate blue.
Republicans are running scared in the Last Frontier. They know that Mary Peltola’s broad appeal with voters across the political spectrum could cost Republicans a Senate seat in Alaska for the first time in over a decade.
Why the panicked spending? The Dan Sullivan-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act is raising the cost of health care, gas, and groceries, and slashing critical services for Alaskans -- all in a state where milk already runs 17 bucks a gallon in some places. Defending that abysmal record is going to be tough against Peltola, who has won statewide before. Polls show a tight race, so here comes the GOP dark money.
Jon Ossoff, the only Democratic incumbent running for re-election in a state that Donald Trump won in 2024, will be facing serious GOP spending to boost his far-right opponent, Mike Collins -- no matter how flawed he is.
Collins is a close Trump ally who votes with MAGA Republicans even when it hurts Georgians. He enters the general election inextricably linked to Trump, whose favorability is suffering in the state, and he currently faces an investigation by the House Ethics Committee for misuse of taxpayer dollars. What’s more, troubling new reporting highlights Mike Collins’ deep ties to white nationalism and neo-Nazis.
Josh Turek is a proven winner -- both at the Paralympics and in Iowa, where he represents the reddest seat won by a Democrat in Iowa in 2024. As a result, Republicans are spending BIG in a state that Trump won by 13 points! They are dumping all of this money into supporting multi-millionaire Trump acolyte Ashley Hinson.
Hinson’s net worth has grown significantly throughout her time in office. At the same time, she is putting Iowans’ health care at risk, cutting Medicaid, blocking funding for veterans, and supporting an abortion ban. Ashley Hinson isn’t looking out for Iowans; she only looks out for herself.
Republicans are spending in Maine to try to keep their reliable vote, Susan Collins, afloat. She has never been more vulnerable and faces some of the lowest approval ratings of her career.
Mainers are eager to vote her out after she voted with Trump 96 percent of the time, was a key vote to advance the GOP bill that guts Medicaid and raises health care costs in order to give billionaires tax handouts, and has continued to defend her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Her toxic agenda is going to sink her ship this November against Troy Jackson, no matter how much money the GOP dumps into Maine.
Failed candidate Mike Rogers is hoping that the second time is the charm as the SLF hopes to drag him across the finish line with millions in spending.
Price Hike Mike is dismissing the economic pain Michiganders are going through while he does the bidding of the corporate interests cutting him checks and multi-millionaires like him.
In the Granite State, Republicans announced plans to spend $17 million to defeat Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas. His likely opponent, sell-out John E. Sununu, has a long record of shilling for Wall Street and big corporations and is completely out of touch with New Hampshire voters. Sununu has campaigned on raising health care costs and putting his party over the concerns of everyday voters.
Republicans are dumping some of the most money into North Carolina, where former Governor Roy Cooper is in a strong position to defeat his opponent, former Big Oil lobbyist and political insider Michael Whatley, and flip the Tar Heel State blue. Roy Cooper is undefeated in campaigns and has a real record of delivering for North Carolinians, but that won’t stop Republicans from trying to hold onto this state with everything they have.
Whatley actively pushed for legislation that increased drug prices for North Carolina seniors -- all while he personally profited, thanks to his over a quarter million dollars invested in pharmaceutical companies. Not only that, but he has elevated predator Harvey Lee West, championed disgraced Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, and he has downplayed calls to release the Epstein files.
Currently at the top of the GOP’s mega-spending list is the Buckeye State. Republicans are clearly scared of Sherrod Brown’s record of fighting for all Ohioans as he continues to maintain a slim lead in the polls against his opponent, Jon Husted.
While Ohioans know Sherrod as a trusted leader who has spent his career standing up for workers and delivering real results, they are learning that appointed-Senator Jon Husted is siding with corporations and billionaires over hardworking Ohio families -- like when he cast the deciding vote to raise the cost of health insurance and strip coverage away from nearly half a million Ohioans in order to pay for the largest billionaire tax giveaway in American history.
These midterms could very well be the most expensive in American history. While Republicans are relying on their billionaire megadonors, Democrats are relying on grassroots supporters like you.
If we want to have any chance of taking back the Senate, we are going to need a massive surge of support from our grassroots team. If we can’t counter this mega-spending, then a blue Senate could slip through our fingers.
If you want to help raise the money we are going to need to supercharge our mission of flipping the Senate, chip in below! And to follow along with how we at the DSCC are working to flip the Senate, also consider subscribing!
A personal message from Devan, DSCC Executive Director:
Thank you for taking the time to check out our Substack! It’s grassroots supporters like you that fuel our fight to flip the Senate.
The DSCC is the only committee solely dedicated to flipping the Senate blue, which is why it’s so important that we have the resources we need to achieve our mission.
Your support allows us to hold our out-of-touch Republican opponents accountable and put a check on Trump’s out-of-control power. As Executive Director, I can personally assure you your donation will be put to good use.
If you want to make a difference today, chip in below. I am incredibly grateful for your support.
- Devan
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