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The Senate GOP's top super PAC is cutting millions in ad spending in the hotly contested Arizona Senate race, as well as the Alaska Senate race, as it looks to shore up Republicans' chances of taking control of the chamber.
Senate Leadership Fund, a group aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is cutting roughly $8 million worth of television, radio and digital spending in Arizona throughout September, and $1.7 million in ads in Alaska during the first two weeks of September, the group's spokesman Jack Pandol confirmed Friday. The cuts were first reported by Politico.
“We’re leaving the door wide open in Arizona but we want to move additional resources to other offensive opportunities that have become increasingly competitive, as well as an unexpected expense in Ohio," SLF President Steven Law said in a statement. "We think the fundamentals of this election strongly favor Republicans, we see multiple paths to winning the majority, and we are going to invest heavily and strategically to achieve that goal.”
Law noted the group is "all-in" for Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who faces a Republican challenger backed by former President Donald Trump in November.
"Senator Murkowski is in a very strong position and based on that decided to push back our start date,” Law said.
The cuts come a week after Senate Leadership Fund pledged to spend $28 million in Ohio, where Republican J.D. Vance is looking to replace retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman. Vance has struggled to keep pace with Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan's fundraising and spending, despite the state's Republican lean.
Prior to these cuts, Senate Leadership Fund had reserved $12.9 million in ads in Arizona through Election Day, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a prolific fundraiser, has also vastly outraised Republican Blake Masters and outspent him on the airwaves. In the weeks since the Aug. 2 primary, Kelly has spent $5.4 million on ads while Masters has spent nearly $1.2 million.
Billionaire Peter Thiel funded a super PAC that helped Masters, a Thiel associate, secure the GOP nomination. Thiel funded a similar group that boosted Vance, but neither super PAC has spent on the television airwaves since those primaries, per AdImpact.