McCarthy-aligned House GOP PAC ups ad buys by $37 million

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a super PAC aligned with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that supports House Republican candidates, announced Monday that it increased its ad reservations in competitive races by $37 million.

The new buys come as some Republicans have expressed worries about this year’s midterms not meeting earlier expectations of a red wave, and Democrats being encouraged by results in some special elections.

“There is incredible energy behind the fight to elect a new Republican Majority and it only continues to grow by the day,” CLF President Dan Conston said in a statement. “Republicans are in a great position to win the House and we’re adding more firepower to the arsenal we need to make it a reality.”

The new airwave buys add to $125 million in ad reservations the PAC announced in April targeting 46 seats across the country for this year’s midterm elections.

CLF’s new ad reservations will target six additional congressional districts, including putting $1 million into Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Sean Patrick Maloney’s (D-N.Y.) district, and a combined $2.35 million defending incumbent Iowa Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson. 

The largest new investment is $5 million in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District, a competitive seat where incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan faces Republican Jennifer-Ruth Green, a Black U.S. Air Force Reservist. 

It is also putting $3 million into Texas’s 34th District in the Rio Grande Valley. GOP Rep. Mayra Flores flipped the seat in a special election this year, becoming the face of Republicans making investments in Hispanic communities. But after redistricting she faces a tougher environment in the general election against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who represents a neighboring district but will run in the 34th in November.

CLF also increased ad buys in 11 districts it had already targeted, including pouring $2.1 million into Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader (D) lost a primary challenge to Jamie McLeod-Skinner earlier this year. The PAC also added market reserves of $3 million in Boston and $2.1 million in Sacramento.

House Democrats have also increased their ad buys in recent weeks.

The House Majority PAC, which boosts Democrats and is aligned with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), announced $20 million in additional ad buys earlier this month – on top of the $101.8 million it announced in March.