The Washington and New Hampshire Senate races have seen surges in ad spending, as Republicans look to expand the electoral map in the final week before Election Day, according to an analysis of ad spending data from AdImpact.
Washington
In Washington, a traditionally Democratic state, Republican groups have significantly increased spending over the past two weeks as they seek to support Republican Tiffany Smiley against Democratic Sen. Patty Murray.
In the last week of October, Republican groups spent $2.4 million on ads supporting Smiley’s campaign, while the following week they spent $4.2 million. The majority of the new spending came from an outside group known as Evergreen Principles, which spent over $1.5 million on ads attacking Murray in the week ending Nov. 6. The PAC is primarily funded by a $2 million donation from Timothy Mellon, a businessman and scion of the Mellon banking family who lives in Wyoming, as well as the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Democratic groups supporting Murray also more than doubled their spending in the same period, from $2.1 million in the last week of October to $4.5 million in the first week of November. Women Vote, Emily List’s independent expenditure arm, spent over $2.7 million supporting Murray in the week ending November 6.
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates this race as Likely Democratic.
New Hampshire
Spending from both parties has also increased in New Hampshire, where Republican Dan Bolduc, who has former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is facing off against Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan.
Democrats increased their spending from $4.9 million to $6.2 million over the last two weeks, while Republican spending increased from $2 million to $3.4 million, an increase of 70%, according to AdImpact.
That’s despite the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund cutting its spending in New Hampshire two weeks ago. Since then, Republican interest in the race has increased again, as PACs including Our American Century and the Sentinel Action Fund looked to close the spending gap.
Recent public polling has shown a competitive race in New Hampshire. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates the race as Lean Democratic.