Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic-aligned group, is filing a string of FEC complaints against Republicans seeking to stop both party committees from using a loophole that allowed them to save millions on TV ads.
The practice was pioneered late last cycle by the NRSC, which is named in the complaints. The committee and GOP campaigns began running TV ads out of so-called “joint fundraising committees,” essentially airing campaign spots framed as a fundraising plea but getting the lower rate offered to candidates.
Democrats challenged the move in 2024, but the FEC was deadlocked and declined to stop the practice. Both parties then exploited this loophole.
The SMP complaints are another attempt to end these JFC ads, which benefit Republicans more because their candidates have traditionally struggled to fundraise as much as Democrats.
So Democrats are again urging the FEC to rule on whether these tactics constituted an unlawful allocation of resources. Only this time, the FEC can’t deadlock. In fact, they can’t even consider the complaint because they lack a quorum, thanks to commissioner vacancies.
The complaints. One SMP complaint alleges that Republicans diverted funds meant for building and legal fees toward television ads.
Another complaint alleges the NRSC paid for ads in coordination with GOP Senate candidates “without treating the NRSC’s advertising costs as contributions or coordinated expenditures.”
The context: Democrats hope for a ruling once President Donald Trump appoints new commissioners. Absent FEC action, the Democrats will turn the complaints into a lawsuit.
Lauren French, the SMP spokesperson, told us that Democrats want to put up a fight against what they see as deceptive and abusive campaign finance tactics — no matter which party uses them.
Democrats acknowledge they have also benefited from this loophole, but claim they did so at a far lower rate than Republicans.
The Supreme Court is considering a case that could entirely scrap coordination limits between a candidate and a party committee. That means groups like the NRSC wouldn’t need to use a JFC. Instead, they could just run ads with their candidates and get the candidate rate.
NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez was dismissive of the SMP complaints.
“Democrats have already lost at the FEC, lost in district court, lost Senate seats, and now their Party voter registration is plummeting,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Rather than fix what’s driving their record unpopularity, they’re desperately trying to spin excuses to donors.”
