The House Majority PAC is spending $51 million on television ads in 29 markets to run in the final weeks of the 2020 election cycle, but not every vulnerable House Democrat’s district is covered.
According to the Democratic super PAC, the initial flight of ad reservations that the group is prioritizing are television markets that will be most inundated and expensive spots, due to the presidential election and competitive Senate races. By reserving ads now, the super PAC locks in the lowest ad rates as early as possible, as it preps television spots to defend the House majority Democrats won in 2018.
Additionally, HMP is already booking $4.6 million in digital ads, the most it has ever spent on digital ads.
The group runs ads independent of House members’ reelection organizations and by law cannot coordinate messages, although there is often substantial overlap, since staff members frequently jump back-and-forth.
“Under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats have consistently put America’s families first — delivering on promises to protect access to affordable health care, reduce the cost of prescription drugs and most recently working to provide economic relief and affordable care for families hit hardest by the COVID-19 virus,” House Majority PAC Executive Director Abby Curran Horrell said in a statement.
“While Republicans continue working to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and protect tax breaks for the wealthiest few or bailouts for corporations that don’t pay their fair share, it’s more important than ever to keep the Democratic House Majority,” she added.
HMP’s list of designated market areas for its cable broadcast ad buys are:
Minneapolis ($6.8 million); Philadelphia ($6.1 million); Detroit ($4.5 million); Atlanta ($4.5 million); Las Vegas ($3.5 million); Miami ($3.3 million); Houston ($2.2 million); Cedar Rapids, Iowa ($2.2 million); Boston ($2 million); San Antonio ($1.6 million); Des Moines, Iowa ($1.4 million); Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ($1.4 million); Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas ($1.1 million); Norfolk, Virginia ($1.1 million); Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ($1 million); Omaha, Nebraska ($900,000); Bangor, Maine ($750,000); El Paso, Texas ($200,000); Fargo, North Dakota ($200,000); Mankato, Minnesota ($120,000); and Ottumwa, Iowa ($41,000).
However, the initial ad reservation does not include markets where districts of vulnerable Democrat members reside, such as New York Rep. Anthony Brindisi, New York Rep. Max Rose, Oklahoma Rep. Kendra Horn, and South Carolina Rep. Joe Cunningham.
The reservation also did not include any markets that cover California, New Jersey, or any Illinois districts either, where new Democrat members hold seats.
