Madison Fernandez
10/18/24
(Politico) Republicans recently scored a victory using a loophole to save cash on TV ads. But campaign finance watchdogs groups are saying “not so fast.”
Left-leaning groups End Citizens United Action Fund, the Campaign Legal Center, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Public Citizen are asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify its rules regarding the cost of television ads, specifically ones run through joint fundraising committees — a novel practice that some Republican candidates began to employ earlier this year to run ads at a lower cost.
The request comes after the Federal Election Commission deadlocked last week on a case concerning the tactic, effectively allowing it to continue. Joint fundraising committees supporting Senate Republicans have been placing ads at the prices offered to candidates, which is cheaper than the rates paid by other groups.