For the third day running, independent political expenditure disclosures topped $7 million, bringing the three-day total to over $28 million.
Quick hits for Friday:
The Roundup: $7.3 million in spending disclosed by 23 groups seeking to influence over 35 federal elections
The Big Spender: YG Action Fund (YG stands for Young Guns, yeeehaaawww!) dropped $1.9 million on media placements opposing three Democrat candidates for the House - John Tierney (D-MA) William Enyart (D-IL) Mike McIntyre (D-NC). Young Guns is the Super PAC founded by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to support Republican candidates for the House. In this election cycle the Young Guns have spent $2.5 million media and mailing expenses.
Cashing In: National Media Public Affairs earned $1.9 million for facilitating the Young Guns media buys. In the last three weeks, NMPA has pocketed 3.2 million from the Young Guns and American Chemistry Council for media-related expenditures.
House or Senate? The House. Groups disclosed over $3.2 million in spending on House contests and $2.7 million on Senate races. Both of these totals would be enough to claim the top spot in this category on most days. Many of the big congress-oriented groups disclosed significant money on Friday causing both House and Senate spending to individually eclipse spending on the Presidential race by at least a 2 to 1 margin.
The Hotspot: Ohio. Over $850K of spending was disclosed in Ohio focusing on three races - the Senate Contest between Sherrod Brown (D) and Josh Mandel (R) and opposing Republican candidates for the House in districts 6 and 16, Bill Johnson and James Renacci. Most of the $850K was spent in opposition to Republican hopefuls.
The High Striker: The Republicans. Right-leaning groups disclosed $5 million in spending compared to $2.2 million for left-aligned organizations. For every dollar disclosed by the Dems, the Reps disclosed $2.2. A significant ratio, but Friday’s spending reflects more parity than most days.
Check the summary table below to see if any of Friday’s outside cash flowed into any elections near you.
