Supreme Court Clears Way for Republicans to Get Cheaper TV Ad Rates

The Supreme Court sided with Republican campaign committees Friday in an emergency dispute over political advertising costs, halting a lower-court decision that had denied political parties access to the same discounted television ad rates available to individual candidates.

The unsigned order pauses a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit while Republicans file a fuller appeal with the high court. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole publicly noted dissent.

The dispute centers on a Federal Communications Commission policy issued in March directing broadcasters to extend so-called "lowest unit charge" rates — federally mandated discounted prices that kick in 60 days before a general election — to political party committees and joint fundraising committees whose spending is coordinated with candidates. The 60-day window opened Friday.

Four Democratic congressional candidates, including Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown — both running in competitive Senate races — challenged the FCC guidance in court. A divided 4th Circuit panel agreed with them last month, finding the policy unlawful and setting aside the FCC's directive. Broadcasters had already begun charging the Republican committees higher rates in the wake of that ruling.

The National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee then asked the Supreme Court to intervene. They argued the appeals court ruling had immediately damaged their ability to buy air time, with the NRCC alone having reserved $10.8 million in television advertising for 23 House contests this month.

The court found the Republican committees would likely be harmed by the 4th Circuit's order. "Current and future recissions will require the party committees to pay more for advertising space, thereby hampering their efforts to reach the electorate in the critical weeks leading up to the midterms," the court wrote, adding that the financial injury "implicates their First Amendment rights to speak and coordinate their political activities freely."

The Trump administration supported the Republicans' emergency petition.

Friday's ruling builds on a June Supreme Court decision that eliminated limits on the amount political party committees can spend in coordination with candidates — a ruling that had already been seen as an advantage for Republican organizations, which hold a larger cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts heading into November.

The MAGA Inc. super PAC reported roughly $403 million on hand as of July 31. Trump said Friday he plans to direct as much as $400 to $500 million from that political operation toward Republican candidates in the coming weeks.

Democratic critics argued the court was handing an undue financial edge to well-funded party groups. A spokesman for Roy Cooper's North Carolina Senate campaign, where Cooper faces Republican Michael Whatley, said the ruling amounted to a television ad discount for large donors at the expense of ordinary voters.