Supreme Court Allows Republican Party Committees Same TV Ad Discounts as Candidates
The high court blocked a lower-court ruling, permitting Republican Senate and House committees to receive the same discounted rates for television advertising as individual candidates, a move seen as advantageous for GOP fundraising ahead of the midterms.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order on Friday that restores a Federal Communications Commission policy allowing party committees to obtain the same discounted television advertising rates that are available to individual candidates. The court reversed a decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had held the FCC rule invalid.
The order noted that the committees were likely to suffer “irreparable harm” if the appeals-court ruling remained in effect, because broadcasters had begun refusing to extend the discounts to them. Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the majority.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, supported by the Trump administration, had asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The ruling follows a June decision that struck down federal limits on coordinated party communications, further expanding the ability of national party organizations to spend directly with candidates.
While the decision also applies to Democratic committees, analysts said it is less beneficial to Democrats because their candidates are generally better funded and the Democratic National Committee holds substantially less cash than its Republican counterpart. Several Democratic candidates, including Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, had previously challenged the FCC’s public notice on the discount policy.
The Supreme Court’s action is expected to enable Republican committees to stretch their advertising budgets by using lower rates, potentially narrowing the fundraising gap with Democratic candidates ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.