Key facts
- Republican committees have outspent Democratic committees by $126 million since June.
- Total coordinated spending by Republican committees was $137 million from July to September.
- Democratic committees spent $55 million in coordinated spending during the same period.
- Justice Elena Kagan criticized the Supreme Court's decision to strike down spending limits.
- The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling cited First Amendment protections for free speech.
Republican committees have spent over $126 million more than their Democratic counterparts since the US Supreme Court struck down federal caps on political party spending in June. Ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, Republican committees poured about $137 million into House and Senate races from July through September, while Democratic committees spent around $55 million during the same period.
Justice Elena Kagan criticized the Supreme Court's conservative majority for the ruling, stating that the amount of money in politics is a "nightmare." The court's 6-3 decision agreed with challengers, including JD Vance, that the spending limits violated the First Amendment.
In September, party committees gained access to discounted TV and radio advertising rates due to a new Federal Communications Commission policy extending its "lowest unit charge" rule to include party committees. The Supreme Court has twice intervened to support this FCC policy against challenges from Democratic candidates.