The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a Republican super PAC, is altering its advertising strategy by pausing its campaign in North Carolina's Senate race and launching a new campaign in Kansas. The group is investing over $1 million in Kansas to support incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall against Democrat Adam Hamilton. After spending more than $30 million in North Carolina, SLF is halting further expenditures there. Additionally, a Trump-aligned group has no planned spending beyond this week, according to Ad Impact.
A source familiar with the plans stated, "SLF’s job is to maintain the majority and this move reflects the most effective and efficient use of resources to do exactly that." The group has also increased its spending in Senate races in Ohio and Iowa.
This strategic shift reflects changes in the Senate battleground landscape and the challenges faced by Republican candidate Michael Whatley in North Carolina against former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. Another GOP organization recently cut millions in ad reservations in North Carolina, with some party members urging a focus on other Senate races.
In Kansas, Hamilton is running closely against Marshall, who is seeking a second term in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in nearly a century. The new SLF ads label Hamilton as a "two-face extremist" and aim to undermine his centrist appeal by criticizing his immigration record and associating him with Democrats such as Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, branding him as "too-extreme for Kansas."
Currently, Senate Republicans hold 53 seats, including those in North Carolina and Kansas, and can afford to lose up to three seats to maintain their majority.