The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), the super PAC aligned with Senate Republican leaders, reported about $43.9m of independent expenditures from 27 October to 1 November, on Lowdown's sum of its Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings1. Independent expenditures are spending a group may not plan with any campaign. Almost all of it attacked Democrats. SLF had entered the final stretch with $88.42m in cash, 2.7 times that of Senate Majority PAC, its Democratic counterpart.
Seven of the ten Democrats it targeted that week won on network projections. Its largest line, $12.37m against Sherrod Brown in Ohio, followed $12.07m the week before. It added $7.65m against Josh Turek in Iowa from 27 to 30 October, $5.50m of it on media placed on 27 October alone2, $4.91m against Adam Hamilton in Kansas, $4.85m against Troy Jackson in Maine, $4.60m against Annie Andrews in South Carolina after $4.06m earlier, $1.47m against Chris Pappas in New Hampshire and $1.20m against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
The one target who lost was in Nebraska: SLF spent $2.40m against independent Dan Osborn, whom Senator Pete Ricketts beat 50.4% to 43.6%3. Two targets remain uncalled, Mary Peltola ($1.80m) and Scott Colom ($0.67m). Lines supporting Republicans were small: $0.59m for Jon Husted and $0.45m for Ashley Hinson.
Spending against a winner does not prove the money moved nothing. In a swing this size, nobody can show what the margins would have been without it. The totals may also rise as 24-hour reports for 1 to 3 November are processed.
