National Republican groups are stepping up their efforts in Georgia’s Senate race to match a new Democratic push there.
The NRSC, the Senate GOP campaign arm, is now on the air in four key TV advertising markets in a bid to help Republican nominee David Perdue, sources confirmed to the Washington Examiner. The ads are running in Georgia’s smaller but still vote-rich media markets, including Augusta, Albany, Savannah and Macon. The NRSC is scheduled to hit the airwaves in Atlanta, Georgia’s largest market, on Tuesday.
The NRSC announced plans Friday to invest $1.45 million in Georgia in the campaign’s final weeks.
Meanwhile, Ending Spending, a GOP super PAC, is in the middle of a $2 million advertising push in the Peach State. The group purchased time on broadcast television in several Georgia markets, including Albany, Atlanta, Augusta, Macon and Savannah.
Ending Spending also is advertising on cable television in those markets, and additionally has purchased cable time some out of state markets that service Georgia television viewers, including Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Jacksonville and Tallahassee in Florida.
The move by Republican groups comes as Democratic groups have signaled that they view Georgia as a better bet than Kentucky, where Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes still trails Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
On Tuesday, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and a super PAC connected to Majority Leader Harry Reid decided against reserving more air time in Kentucky.
Democratic candidate Michelle Nunn, meantime, is gaining ground.
In a recent Survey USA poll of likely voters, Nunn led 48 percent to 45 percent. The poll, conducted Friday to Monday, had a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.
Perdue still leads Nunn in the RealClearPolitics average of polls, and Republicans maintain that their internal surveys show him ahead. But the GOP says it is spending in Georgia to ensure that Perdue wins with more than 50 percent of the vote and avoids a January runoff.
