Outside groups flood Georgia with advertising buys ahead of runoffs

Outside groups are launching spending blitzes to buy ad reservations in Georgia ahead of two Senate runoffs there, according to new data released by nonpartisan ad tracking firm AdImpact.

The flood of outside money comes as Democrats and Republicans battle for the two GOP-held seats, which with the Senate currently at a 50-48 majority for the next Congress will determine which party controls the upper chamber. 

The two races combined, since the primaries began last year, have already seen $206 million of political media spending, according to AdImpact, and that number is expected to skyrocket in the remaining nine weeks until the runoff elections on Jan. 5.

Data from the tracking firm for the race between Sen. David Perdue (R), who is running for a second term, and Democrat Jon Ossoff, shows a massive spike in money already reserved for advertisements in the final month-and-a-half sprint.

The Ossoff campaign and outside groups have reserved more than $38 million in ads through the beginning of January, while Perdue and GOP groups supporting him have reserved more than $28 million in ad time. AdImpact says it has already tracked a combined $71.5 million in the two weeks after the race was officially extended.

AdImpact did not release spending reservations in the race between Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R), who was appointed to the seat and is running to complete former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R) term, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, but spending is expected to be high that race, as well. GOP super PAC American Crossroads announced Friday it will spend $35 million to boost Loeffler. 

“The radical left is pouring money and people into Georgia because they know Perdue and Loeffler are all that stands between America and socialism,” Stephen Law, the president of the Senate Leadership Fund, the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans, said in a statement announcing a $35 million buy to boost Perdue. “We’re going to do everything humanly possible to keep radicals like Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock out of the Senate.”

The money wars come as the political world descends on Georgia, given its importance in deciding control of the Senate. Should Ossoff and Warnock win their races, the Senate will be at a 50-50 split, with Democrats earning control because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (D) will have the power to cast a tie-breaking vote. 

Runoffs in the Peach State have historically favored Republicans, and the election style was created during segregation to maintain white control over the levers of power there. But Democrats were buoyed by President-elect Joe Biden’s victory there, making him the first Democratic presidential nominee since 1992 to win Georgia.