THE DIGITAL RACE FOR THE U.S. SENATE
ACRONYM is tracking how candidates and outside groups are running (or ignoring) their digital strategies in the battleground Senate races across the country. Got any questions about this data? Send us an email.
Each week in The Senate FYI, we dig into the digital strategies that are shaping the nation’s competitive Senate races. But if Thursday isn’t soon enough to see who’s up and who’s down in digital spending, we’ve got you covered.
Check out the breakdowns below to see how much has been invested in the digital race for the U.S. Senate in 2020 so far. The below data reflects spending from January 1st, 2020 - April 4, 2020. (This page was last updated on April 9, 2020.)
NATIONAL COMMITTEES + PACs
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the National Republican Senate Committee sometimes run digital ads under their candidates’ disclaimers. The two PACs associated with Senate Dems and Republicans – the Senate Majority PAC and the Senate Leadership Fund – generally run ads for or against candidates.
Doug Jones won this seat in 2017 in a special election to replace Jeff Sessions. The seat’s six-year term is up this November, and Sessions and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville are in a primary runoff that has been rescheduled for July 14th due to coronavirus concerns.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Martha McSally to the late John McCain’s Senate seat after she failed to hold it for Republicans against Kyrsten Sinema in 2018. Former astronaut Mark Kelly, husband to Gabby Giffords, is running to replace McSally and finish McCain’s term in this special election.
Sen. Cory Gardner is running for re-election as Republicans’ most vulnerable senator in 2020, since Democrat Jared Polis won the governor’s mansion by more than 10 points in 2018. After an unsuccessful presidential run this cycle, former Gov. John Hickenlooper is now running to replace Gardner.
After an extremely narrow GOP win in 2018’s governor’s race, there is a divided field to flip Georgia blue: running are Jon Ossoff, who narrowly lost GA-06 in a 2017 special election; Teresa Tomlinson, former mayor of Columbus, Ga.; and Sarah Riggs Amico, Stacey Abrams’ 2018 running mate.
Following the sudden retirement of Sen. Johnny Isakson, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp appointed businesswoman Kelly Loeffler to his seat. Rep. Doug Collins, a staunch Trump defender, is primarying her from the right. On the Dem side are Rev. Raphael Warnock, former U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver, and Matt Lieberman, son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman. A nonpartisan primary election for this race will occur on Nov. 3, 2020, and the general on January 5, 2021.
Democrats flipped two House seats in Iowa in 2018, and President Trump is not popular in the state, so the Hawkeye State may be competitive for the first time since 2008. Democrats have coalesced around businesswoman Theresa Greenfield to prevent Joni Ernst from winning a second term.
Republican Kris Kobach narrowly lost in the 2018 governor’s race in Kansas, and Democrats are looking to beat him again in 2020 for this open seat. Also running on the Republican side is Rep. Roger Marshall. After switching parties in 2018, State Sen. Barbara Bollier is the most likely candidate to win the Democratic primary.
After Democrat Janet Mills flipped the governor’s mansion in 2018, Democrats are giving Sen. Susan Collins the most competitive race of her career. Her probable opponent is the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, Sara Gideon.
Trump narrowly won Michigan in 2016, but in 2018, voters there re-elected Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and flipped the governor’s mansion to Democrats, as well as two other statewide offices and two House seats. Running against Sen. Gary Peters is John James, who lost to Stabenow in 2018.
After ending his presidential bid late last year, Montana’s popular second-term Democratic governor, Steve Bullock, insisted for months that he would not run to unseat freshman Sen. Steve Daines. In early March, he changed his mind and jumped into the race at the last second, putting Big Sky Country into play.
While Trump won North Carolina in 2016, so did Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper – and in 2018, Democrats won the majority of votes in state legislative races statewide. Democrat Cal Cunningham, a veteran and former state senator, is running to block Sen. Thom Tillis from a second term.
Beto O’Rourke came within 3 percentage points of unseating Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, and Democrats had several other downballot wins in Texas that year as well. This cycle, veteran MJ Hegar and State Sen. Royce West are in a primary runoff to continue that momentum and possibly unseat the longtime incumbent, Sen. John Cornyn, but the runoff has been delayed to July 14 over coronavirus concerns.
