Group Plans $48 Million Ad Campaign to Preserve GOP Congress

(Bloomberg) -- A group working to help Republicans keep control of the U.S. House said Tuesday it plans to place orders for $48 million in television and online advertising for the weeks before November’s election and will focus its efforts on 20 to 30 districts.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super political action committee endorsed by House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders, said the planned spending is the "first of several rounds of advertising reservations for fall 2018."

The super-PAC has already been one of the top television advertisers in this year’s midterm campaign. It ended the first quarter with about $25 million in the bank, meaning it will still need to do considerable fundraising to meet its spending plans.

"Thanks to CLF’s record-breaking early fundraising, the super-PAC is able to lock in larger TV reservations at lower rates ahead of the midterm elections," the group said in a statement. "Last cycle, CLF announced its first reservation of $10 million in August 2016."

The super-PAC’s plans call for $38 million in broadcast and cable television spending and $10 million in digital ads. The TV ads will run in 20 districts, while the digital ones will be targeted at 30 districts.

Republicans are trying to stave off a trend in which the party that holds the White House almost always loses seats in midterms. Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to win the House, which is viewed as more likely to change control than the Senate.

To contact the reporter on this story: John McCormick in Chicago at jmccormick16@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Kevin Whitelaw

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