Top GOP super PACs drop $70 million on Georgia Senate runoffs

Two top Republican super PACs are taking out a massive $70 million ad buy in Georgia ahead of the state’s two Senate runoff elections in January.

Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) is dropping $35 million in the state in support of Sen. David Perdue (R), who is slated to face off against Democrat Jon Ossoff on Jan. 5, while another super PAC, American Crossroads, is spending $35 million to boost Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) in her bid against Democrat Raphael Warnock.

The combined $70 million ad buy brings the two groups’ total spending in the runoffs so far to nearly $80 million. The super PACs announced $9 million in radio and television advertising earlier this week.

The latest ad buy from SLF and American Crossroads was first reported on Friday by Politico.

Both parties have already begun spending heavily in the Georgia runoffs as they battle over control of the Senate. Republicans are currently slated to enter the next Congress with 50 seats to Democrats’ 48. Given that Democrats will control the White House next year, the party needs to win both seats in Georgia to take control of the upper chamber.

Even before the latest investments from SLF and American Crossroads, more than $135 million in television ads had already been booked in the Georgia runoffs.

“The radical left is pouring money and people into Georgia because they know Perdue and Loeffler are all that stands between America and socialism,” said Stephen Law, the president of SLF. “We’re going to do everything humanly possible to keep radicals like Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock out of the Senate.”

The spending announcement from SLF and American Crossroads came as Georgia’s top elections official certified the results of the Nov. 3 general election, formalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s win over President Trump in the state. Biden is the first Democratic presidential candidate since 1992 to carry Georgia’s electoral votes.