A federal court ruled against the campaign arm of House Democrats in their attempt to block Senate Republicans from running ads, The New York Times reported.
Democrats were requesting the court block Republicans from running ads in key swing state races days before the election, claiming they were exploiting a campaign loophole by classifying their campaign ads as fundraising appeals, the Times reported.
The move allowed Republicans to get around limit Congress placed on spending by national party committees to aid individual candidates, the Times reported.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm for House Democrats, had sued the Federal Election Commission for failing to stop the GOP, and wanted the GOP blocked from running the ads or for Democrats to be allowed to engage in similar tactics, according to the Times.
The FEC deadlocked on a 3-3 ruling on party lines and did not issue a decision after Democrats complained.
A federal judge said he was unpersuaded by Democrats' arguments and said both parties' campaign committees are on an even playing field, the Times said.
The ruling could give Republicans a boost as they try to take back the Senate, needing only one or two seats to flip the upper chamber, depending on the results of the presidential election.
"This is a huge win for the rule of law and political speech," Sean Cooksey, the Republican chair of the FEC said on X.
Julie Merz, the executive director of the DCCC, said the group was disappointed in the ruling.
"The D.C.C.C. will evaluate next steps after the election to ensure that a small cadre of right-wing millionaires are not able to buy elections," Merz said.
Fundraising appeals are subject to different regulations than campaign advertisements. The National Republican Senatorial Committee began adding "donate now" to the end of the ads with a QR code to allow them to be classified as fundraising appeals, the Times reported.
Republicans argued Senate Democrats were using the same tactic in their ads this campaign cycle.
Sam Barron ✉
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