Moreover, Georgia airwaves have been saturated with campaign ads for months, and it’s unclear whether many voters can be turned out by more of the same. By law, candidates are able to buy ads at favorable rates, so the same amount of money buys more exposure than an ad booked by a PAC or another group. Both sides depend heavily on out-of-state money. The tenor of ads on both sides has been sharply negative, with Warnock the prime target of GOP attacks. Although all four GOP groups are linked, they’re separately established to take advantage of the complexities of campaign finance law. Republicans are now spending tens of millions of dollars trying to change that, with ads characterizing Warnock as “dangerous” and a “radical.” Ads against both Democrats feature footage of urban unrest and accusations that they would vote to defund police and take money from the military. The group spent nearly all of its money on the unsuccessful effort to gain control of the Senate in November, ending the month with only $2.1 million on hand. Instead, a flood of Republican money has poured in.
Combining ads that have aired with those booked for later, the Republican side is on track to have a $118-million-to-$76million advantage in the Perdue-Ossoff race and a $126-million-to-$81-million edge in the Loeffler-Warnock contest. Despite Democrats’ big edge in spending this fall, for example, Republicans won the bulk of the hotly contested congressional races. The Republican edge marks a sharp reversal from the general election, when Democrats largely outspent their opponents in key races nationwide. “David Perdue and Mitch McConnell spent more than $43million to lie about Jon Ossoff in the general election, and nobody believed them,” said Ossoff’s campaign spokesperson Miryam Lipper. Democrats have countered with ads accusing both Loeffler and Perdue of corruption. Democrats have concentrated on the expensive Atlanta media market, where their voters are concentrated, while Republicans have spent more in the nine markets that cover the rest of the state. “Georgia voters are absolutely seeing our messages in a multitude of mediums,” said Pandol. Democratic strategists have expressed concern about being outspent in the state, although campaign officials note that many of the ads’ attacks are by now well known and unlikely to persuade voters who haven’t already been convinced.
Democrats head into the new year with 48 Senate seats, including two independents who caucus with them. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican who took office in January to fill a vacancy. In the special election runoff, the Republican side has spent slightly more so far - $45million versus $42million, AdImpact’s data show. California is the top source of small-dollar donations for both sides, Federal Election Commission filings show. Where the big donations come from remains shrouded. Any potential for diminishing returns, however, doesn’t appear to have slowed the outpouring of donations to the GOP effort. In the first round of the special election - a free-for-all with 21 candidates, including eight Democrats and six Republicans - Warnock largely escaped attack as Loeffler focused fire on her top GOP rival. In the Ossoff-Perdue race, Democrats and allied groups have spent roughly $42million on advertising versus $39million for the GOP side, according to AdImpact, which tracks TV and radio spending.
Two other groups affiliated with Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York - Georgia Honor, which backs Warnock, and Georgia Way, which backs Ossoff - have spent more heavily, reserving about $23 million in ads between them. With spending in Georgia’s twin Senate runoffs rocketing toward record levels, Republicans appear to be gaining a significant advantage on the state’s airwaves as heavy spending by outside groups finances a flood of mostly negative ads. The previous record for spending in a single Senate contest belongs to this year’s race in South Carolina, where incumbent Sen. The feeling is, it’s all on the line here,” said Jack Pandol, spokesman for four political committees controlled by McConnell that are among the biggest spenders in the race. Political committees don’t have to disclose their major donors until late this month, and some can keep donors anonymous. That makes campaign contributions a potential high-yield investment for major corporations and wealthy individuals in addition to those motivated by ideology or partisanship. The fund spent $112.6 million in the final stretch of the regular campaign and had $60.8 million left in the bank. Their Senate Majority PAC raised $90million in the homestretch, for a total of $283.5 million for the 2019-20 election cycle.
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