By Fredreka Schouten
Republican donors, sensing the Senate majority is within their grasp, are starting to open their wallets to help fund last-minute advertising and get-out-the-vote blitzes before Election Day, donors and officials aligned with GOP groups say.
American Crossroads, a super PAC affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove, had its biggest fundraising month of the year in September, pulling in more than $11 million. In all, American Crossroads and its tax-exempt arm, Crossroads GPS, have collected or received pledges totaling more than $100 million for the 2014 election cycle.
"There's an increased determination among donors about the importance of the Senate and the opportunities we have," said Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the group.
Lindsay declined to identify donors ahead of the super PAC's filing with the Federal Election Commission later this month. Its tax-exempt wing does not disclose its contributors' names.
Republicans need a net gain of six seats to win control of the Senate on Election Day.
Frank VanderSloot, an Idaho businessman who donated $300,000 to GOP-aligned super PACs in the 2012 election, told USA TODAY he intends to be "very active in the closing weeks" to boost Republicans' "good chance" of seizing the Senate majority.
"I learned some big lessons two years ago," VanderSloot said in an email. "Not every dollar was well spent. I think the most effective were Crossroads and the United States Chamber of Commerce. That is where we will be the most active."
Through most of the election cycle, Democratic super PACs have bested Republican groups in fundraising. Among the most successful: Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that has been at the forefront of a tightly coordinated Democratic effort to retain the party's majority in the Senate.
Senate Majority has outspent American Crossroads by more than 3-to-1 so far, according to FEC data tallied by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
New spending by GOP-aligned groups, however, helped Republicans gain a TV advertising edge in four key Senate races in Iowa, Alaska, Kentucky and Colorado at the end of September, according to a recent analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project.
"A lot of major donors came in late, very wisely, to see where the major priorities are and where they can make the most difference, said Fred Malek, a top Republican fundraiser.
Malek said his party's donors are alarmed and motivated by the administration's "failure to properly anticipate the ISIS crisis," referring to the radical Islamic militants who have seized swaths of Syria and Iraq and, in recent weeks, have beheaded four Westerners. The U.S. began airstrikes against the group in August.
Not surprisingly, national security has started to emerge as a theme in some of the late-breaking advertising and fundraising pitches, including an e-mail sent Monday from former vice president Dick Cheney seeking campaign money for House Republicans.
In Senate contests, two new commercials aiding Republicans Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Cory Gardner in Colorado focus on the threat posed by the Islamic State.
States where Crossroads will be spending in the coming weeks to influence Senate races include New Hampshire, Colorado, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana and Iowa.
The late fundraising spurt for Republican organizations comes at a price. With the election less than a month away, independent groups are paying the highest rates for their advertising. By contrast, television outlets must offer candidates the cheapest rate available.
Republican outside groups "are getting a lot less bang for their buck," said Elizabeth Wilner, who tracks political advertising for Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group. But with recent polls "showing that some of these races are very, very winnable for Republicans, no Republican donor wants to lose the Senate for lack of money," she said.
Stanley Hubbard, a Minnesota media magnate who has donated more than $190,000 in this election cycle mostly to Republican candidates and party committees, said he liked what he heard on a recent Crossroads' conference call for donors and likely would write a check.
"Hopefully, it will achieve in getting more sensible people in office," he said in a telephone interview. However, Hubbard said he's "sick" of the non-stop appeals for campaign cash.
"I've given so darn much this year," he said. "After the election, I'm not giving anyone a nickel for at least a year."
American Crossroads, a super PAC affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove, had its biggest fundraising month of the year in September, pulling in more than $11 million. In all, American Crossroads and its tax-exempt arm, Crossroads GPS, have collected or received pledges totaling more than $100 million for the 2014 election cycle.
"There's an increased determination among donors about the importance of the Senate and the opportunities we have," said Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the group.
Lindsay declined to identify donors ahead of the super PAC's filing with the Federal Election Commission later this month. Its tax-exempt wing does not disclose its contributors' names.
Republicans need a net gain of six seats to win control of the Senate on Election Day.
Frank VanderSloot, an Idaho businessman who donated $300,000 to GOP-aligned super PACs in the 2012 election, told USA TODAY he intends to be "very active in the closing weeks" to boost Republicans' "good chance" of seizing the Senate majority.
"I learned some big lessons two years ago," VanderSloot said in an email. "Not every dollar was well spent. I think the most effective were Crossroads and the United States Chamber of Commerce. That is where we will be the most active."
Through most of the election cycle, Democratic super PACs have bested Republican groups in fundraising. Among the most successful: Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that has been at the forefront of a tightly coordinated Democratic effort to retain the party's majority in the Senate.
Senate Majority has outspent American Crossroads by more than 3-to-1 so far, according to FEC data tallied by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
New spending by GOP-aligned groups, however, helped Republicans gain a TV advertising edge in four key Senate races in Iowa, Alaska, Kentucky and Colorado at the end of September, according to a recent analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project.
"A lot of major donors came in late, very wisely, to see where the major priorities are and where they can make the most difference, said Fred Malek, a top Republican fundraiser.
Malek said his party's donors are alarmed and motivated by the administration's "failure to properly anticipate the ISIS crisis," referring to the radical Islamic militants who have seized swaths of Syria and Iraq and, in recent weeks, have beheaded four Westerners. The U.S. began airstrikes against the group in August.
Not surprisingly, national security has started to emerge as a theme in some of the late-breaking advertising and fundraising pitches, including an e-mail sent Monday from former vice president Dick Cheney seeking campaign money for House Republicans.
In Senate contests, two new commercials aiding Republicans Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Cory Gardner in Colorado focus on the threat posed by the Islamic State.
States where Crossroads will be spending in the coming weeks to influence Senate races include New Hampshire, Colorado, North Carolina, Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana and Iowa.
The late fundraising spurt for Republican organizations comes at a price. With the election less than a month away, independent groups are paying the highest rates for their advertising. By contrast, television outlets must offer candidates the cheapest rate available.
Republican outside groups "are getting a lot less bang for their buck," said Elizabeth Wilner, who tracks political advertising for Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group. But with recent polls "showing that some of these races are very, very winnable for Republicans, no Republican donor wants to lose the Senate for lack of money," she said.
Stanley Hubbard, a Minnesota media magnate who has donated more than $190,000 in this election cycle mostly to Republican candidates and party committees, said he liked what he heard on a recent Crossroads' conference call for donors and likely would write a check.
"Hopefully, it will achieve in getting more sensible people in office," he said in a telephone interview. However, Hubbard said he's "sick" of the non-stop appeals for campaign cash.
"I've given so darn much this year," he said. "After the election, I'm not giving anyone a nickel for at least a year."
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