A major Republican super PAC is investing millions of dollars to counter long-shot Democratic attempts to flip Senate seats in states where President Trump won landslide victories in 2024.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, disclosed Sunday a new wave of Senate-race ad buys in a slew of states Mr. Trump won by roughly 20 points in 2024.
The PAC disclosed nearly $980,000 spent on ads in South Carolina, $960,000 in Nebraska, $720,000 in Kansas, and more than $570,000 in Mississippi.
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Although the spending burst is a small fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars already spent by SLF and connected groups on Senate races, it is a meaningful investment.
To be sure, Republicans have spent heavily in some of the states in the past. In 2020, SLF spent $17.5 million in Kansas to elect Sen. Roger Marshall, even though Kansas last elected a Democratic senator in 1932.
Additionally, South Carolina has previously been an expensive battleground, as a total of almost $277 million was spent on the 2020 Senate race, which Lindsey Graham ultimately won by a wide margin. His sister Darline was appointed to serve out his term and is now running for a full six-year term in her own right.
This cycle’s late defensive moves in solidly red states come as Democrats are also investing there.
WinSenate, a group aligned with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, has spent over $8 million against Mr. Marshall and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi.
Democratic candidate Annie Andrews in South Carolina and independent candidate Dan Osborn in Nebraska have also been successful at raising funds and attracting the support of outside groups.
Democrats need to gain four net seats to win control of the Senate.
President Trump has held rallies in several heavily Republican cities in the closing weeks of the midterm election cycle, with a rally in Corinth, Mississippi, on Monday.
That event comes days after Democratic candidate Scott Colom rallied with former Vice President Kamala Harris in the state, which last elected a Democratic senator in 1982.
In an interview with the local outlet WLOX, Ms. Hyde-Smith was dismissive of Mr. Colom, reiterating that she would not debate him.
“He can’t get a crowd in a room if I wasn’t in there. So why would I even acknowledge that?” she said.
Mr. Trump is also scheduled to return to South Carolina for a rally on Thursday, barely a week after his Oct. 20 rally in the state, where he stumped in support of Ms. Graham.
Asked why the president had to provide such support in the Republican-dominated state, Ms. Graham told CNN that “Democrats are pouring money into South Carolina, trying to turn our state blue.”
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