Senate Republicans will pour an additional $67.5 million into three Senate races against Democrat incumbents.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely allied with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), is going on offense with TV, radio, and digital ad buys in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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C-SPANThe group will spend $28 million in Pennsylvania, $17 million in Wisconsin, and $22.5 million in Michigan — three states also prioritized by Donald Trump’s campaign.
“The consistent pattern we’ve seen is that these races are closing,” said Steven Law of the Senate Leadership Fund. Law previously served McConnell as chief of staff.
In Pennsylvania, Republican Dave McCormick and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) are in a virtual tie. In Wisconsin, where Trump and Harris are tied, Republican Eric Hovde has pulled within four points of Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). In Michigan, former Rep. Mike Rogers continues to close the gap with Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
Trump is tied or leading in all three battleground states. He won the trio in 2016 before Biden captured them in 2020.
With a favorable map, strong candidates, and Trump at the top of the ticket, Republicans are almost guaranteed to gain seats in the Senate and eliminate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) 51-49 majority, but they’re looking for more than a simple majority. Democrats are playing defense across the country, while the only Republicans with competitive races are Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rick Scott (R-FL). Both Cruz and Scott are favored.
Sen. Joe Manchin’s (I-WV) retirement will hand West Virginia to Republicans. Republican Tim Sheehy is leading Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) in conservative Montana, and Republican Bernie Moreno is giving Republicans in increasingly red Ohio hope to finally oust Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
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Republicans are running other competitive races as well, including in Nevada and Arizona.
Few would benefit more from Republicans running the Senate score up than Trump in a second term. Trump would need a friendly Senate to move legislation and, perhaps more importantly, judicial, cabinet, and other nominations.
While nominations are only subject to a majority threshold, a handful of Senate Republicans, most notably Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), would likely continue to be a thorn in Trump’s side.
Additionally, the electoral map will be much more difficult for Senate Republicans in the 2026 cycle, meaning Republicans would be in less danger of losing the majority if they performed well during 2024.
Notably, Law told the Journal that Harris’s pledge to eliminate the Senate filibuster to codify national abortion protections sparked a flurry of donations from major donors. That pledge immediately backfired with Sens. Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) coming out strongly against it.
McConnell is retiring from Senate leadership after this Congress but has much to gain if Republicans take the Senate. He would like to take over the powerful Appropriations Committee, reports indicate.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
