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Democrats have outspent Republicans by a more than a a 3-to-1 margin in the initial stretch of the Georgia Senate runoff, but GOP groups are looking to close the gap in the last two weeks of the Dec. 6 race.
From Nov. 9 through Monday, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and aligned outside groups have spent a combined $16.9 million on ads, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact, with Warnock's campaign alone spending $8 million. Warnock's most recent TV ad focuses on his background and character.
By comparison, Republican former football player Herschel Walker and his allies have spent a combined $5.4 million on ads, with Walker's campaign spending $2.6 million.
Walker's latest ad, which launched Monday, focuses on transgender athletes in college sports.
The spending disparity is also driven by an early investment from Senate Majority PAC, the main Democratic super PAC involved in Senate races. The super PAC is behind an outside group known as Georgia Honor, which has spent $7.5 million on ads. Its GOP counterpart, Senate Leadership Fund, has spent $2 million.
But Senate Leadership Fund has reserved $8.2 million in airtime ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff, fueling a GOP spending advantage in future reservations. The group has pledged to spend $14.2 million on the race.
Over the next two weeks, Republicans have reserved a combined $10.4 million in ads, while Democrats have reserved $7.8 million worth of airtime.
The spending is expected to pale in comparison to the two Georgia Senate runoffs in 2020, when both parties spent nearly $500 million combined in those two races. Unlike in 2020, control of the Senate does not hinge on the Georgia runoffs this year. Democrats have been projected to retain control of the chamber.