Pelosi-aligned super PAC adds $18M to fall ad buys

House Democrats’ main super PAC announced a second round of fall ad buys on Monday morning, bringing their total TV spending for the cycle to over $69 million.

The latest reservation by House Majority PAC, which is closely aligned with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is worth $18 million of broadcast, cable and radio ads and is spread across 20 markets, with sizable buys in Los Angeles and New York. It will also provide cover to some of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents in Oklahoma, South Carolina, New Mexico and Utah who were left out of the group’s initial buy last month, according to plans shared first with POLITICO.

“House Majority PAC is committed to ensuring we have the resources we need to protect and expand the Democratic majority across the map, from rural areas to America’s largest cities,” Abby Curran Horrell, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.

The largest buys include $3.1 million in the New York City market, where Democrats will need to defend Reps. Antonio Delgado and Max Rose; and $3.25 million in the Los Angeles market, which covers seats held by Democratic Reps. Harley Rouda, Gil Cisneros, and Katie Porter, and the seat vacated by former Rep. Katie Hill that will be filled this week in a hotly contested special election.

Last month, HMP announced an initial reservation of $51 million. But the bulk of those buys fell in states holding competitive Senate and presidential contests where the airwaves could get crowded and expensive.

This second round earmarks funds for five incumbents in smaller markets who all hold districts that President Donald Trump won handily.

The group has slated $725,000 in the Oklahoma City market, which covers Rep. Kendra Horn; $1.1 million across the Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., markets, which cover Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.); $900,000 in the Salt Lake City market, which covers Rep. Ben McAdams; $920,000 in Albuquerque, N.M., which covers Rep. Xochitl Torres Small and over $1.2 million in upstate New York markets, which cover Rep. Anthony Brindisi.

The group has also reserved $1 million in the Fresno and Bakersfield, Calif., markets where Rep. TJ Cox will face former Rep. David Valadao (R) in a 2018 rematch; and $250,000 in Miami, where Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is likely to face Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez. Hillary Clinton carried both seats by double digits in 2016.

And in a reflection of House Democrats’ determination to go on offense, the group has placed reservations targeting a few more GOP-held seats. It will spend $675,000 across the Champaign, Ill., and St. Louis markets that cover the district of Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). He will face Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan in a rematch of Davis' narrow 2018 victory.

Some of its $730,000 reservation in the Syracuse, N.Y., market could be used to attack GOP Rep. John Katko, and a $120,000 buy in the La Crosse, Wis., market will likely be deployed against Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn (Minn.).

HMP is also increasing some of the buys it made last month, dropping additional funds in markets in Pennsylvania, Maine, Georgia and Michigan, where Democrats are defending Trump-friendly territory. The group notably added another $1 million to its Las Vegas buy.

Yet one notable market missing from the group’s reservations is Chicago, where Democrats flipped two seats in 2018. But GOP recruitment flops against Reps. Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood have weakened their prospects.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, House Republicans’ flagship super PAC, also did not include Chicago in its initial spending plan, which allotted $43 million across 33 markets. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee have yet to place their fall TV ad buys.

Spending Breakdown by Market:
Los Angeles: $3.25 million
New York City: $3.1 million
Las Vegas: $1 million
Binghamton, N.Y: $930,000
Albuquerque, N.M.: $920,000
Salt Lake City: $900,000
Atlanta: $860,000
Detroit: $775,000
Syracuse, N.Y: $730,000
Oklahoma City: $725,000
Fresno, Calif.: $675,000
Charleston, S.C.: $630,000
Champaign, Ill.: $510,000
Savannah, Ga.: $480,000
Bakersfield, Calif.: $410,000
El Paso, Texas: $350,000
Utica, N.Y.: $310,000
Pittsburgh: $300,000
Miami: $250,000
Philadelphia: $200,000
Odessa, Texas: $200,000
St. Louis: $165,000
La Crosse, Wis.: $120,000
Lansing, Mich.: $115,000
Phoenix: $100,000
Portland, Maine: $70,000
Bangor, Maine: $50,000
Presque Isle, Maine: $17,000