Senate Republicans reserve nearly $10 million for ads in Michigan race
Ahead of this fall’s election, the Senate Republicans’ political arm is reserving nearly $10 million in TV and online advertising in Michigan, where it is supporting former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Brighton in his Senate run, according to a Republican source familiar with the total.
The amount is part of the first round of independent spending by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which began placing reservations on Thursday in four states: Michigan, Ohio, Nevada and Arizona. The ads would run starting in August, the source said.
The move is another sign that Republicans nationally are serious about investing in Michigan’s Senate race this fall, even though the state is not considered a front-runner. Earlier this month, the NRSC announced it would spend a seven-figure sum on a door-knocking program in the state.
In the Republican primary on August 6, Rogers will face businessman Sandy Pensler of Grosse Pointe Park, former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Cascade Township and physician Sherry O’Donnell.
In total, the NRSC says it spends over $100 million on an advertising strategy that includes independent spending and candidate-coordinated advertising campaigns aimed at both a Democratic candidate and the party as a whole.
The group has already begun coordinated campaigns with candidates in Montana, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Nevada and Arizona and intends to launch similar coordinated buys with Rogers and Eric Hovde of Wisconsin in the coming months, the group said.
“Joe Biden’s extreme unpopularity has given us a chance to build a permanent majority in the Senate,” NRSC Executive Director Jason Thielman said in a statement. “We have the right candidates and the right message, now we need to execute.”
There is currently a pro-Rogers Super PAC on the air in Michigan, spending over a million dollars to air commercials praising President Donald Trump for Rogers, whom he supports, amid attacks by Pensler on Rogers’ role in investigating the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, a decade ago.
More: Pro-Mike Rogers group airs new ad amid criticism from GOP Senate opponent Sandy Pensler
The NRSC’s counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, announced a $79 million advertising campaign in the spring, including more than $11 million for TV reservations in Michigan to defend its Senate majority. The larger amount will also include coordinated ad buys with candidates.
Democrats’ initial reservations in the Senate were more than double their initial purchases last cycle as they face some open seats like those in Michigan, where Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) is retiring.
The DSCC, chaired by Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat from Bloomfield Township, had previously announced investments in on-the-ground personnel in Michigan and eight other states. U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin (Democrat from Holly) and actor Hill Harper of Detroit are vying for the Democratic nomination.
“Michigan is going to be a hard-fought race. We are a swing state by definition, and swing states are going to be close. But I’m confident we’re going to win,” Peters told The Detroit News last month.
“Elissa Slotkin is obviously an incredibly strong candidate and we’ll see what happens in the primaries. But Michigan will continue to be Democratic. We will re-elect a Democratic candidate, especially since I’m the chairman of the DSCC: We’re not going to lose Michigan as long as I’m in office.”
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