Republican Super PAC Pulls Out of Four House Races and Pours Money Into 16 Others as Midterm Map Shifts

The top super PAC backing House Republicans has pulled its ads from four races and moved the money into 16 others. Such groups can spend without limit but cannot coordinate their spending with candidates. Three unnamed Republican officials revealed the shift on Tuesday, with just three weeks left before Americans vote on 3 November.

Known as the Congressional Leadership Fund, the group is close to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Two of the four are sitting Republicans, Iowa's Mariannette Miller-Meeks and New Jersey's Tom Kean Jr. Punchbowl News reported that the fund had dropped its planned advertising in both races. Democrats see a chance in seats they once wrote off.

Which Races Lost Funding

Iowa's 1st District pits Miller-Meeks against Democrat Christina Bohannan for the third time. Miller-Meeks won their last race by just 799 votes, and only one House race nationwide was closer. CNN said the group cut roughly $1.4 million (about £1 million) in that race. The district has seen Medicaid cuts linked to hospital closures and costly diesel for farmers. Days earlier, Miller-Meeks had called talk of a pullout 'a flat-out lie'.

In New Jersey's 7th District, Kean faces Democrat Rebecca Bennett. She is a former Navy helicopter pilot. Kean missed four months of votes this year before revealing a mental health crisis. Here, the fund cancelled around $2 million (about £1.5 million) in bookings, though a Kean spokesperson said he would still match Bennett on the airwaves down the stretch. It also lost support for two more seats it had hoped to win from Democrats in Ohio and Michigan.

Where the Money Is Going

The fund's four abandoned contests had taken more than 12 per cent of its spending. About $10 million (about £7.5 million) is now going to 16 other districts. They include seats held by Pennsylvania's Brian Fitzpatrick, Texas's Monica De La Cruz and Virginia's Rob Wittman. The aim is to shore up places Donald Trump narrowly won. Chris Winkelman, the group's president, told The New York Times the changes would 'keep the pressure on the most vulnerable Democrats'.

On Wednesday, the super PAC also pulled $3 million (about £2.2 million) from a Texas seat it wanted to take from Democrat Henry Cuellar. Senate Republicans' main super PAC is putting $15 million (about £11.1 million) into Nebraska, which Trump won easily, to protect Senator Pete Ricketts. David McIntosh of the Club for Growth blamed a weak economy and a stalled voting bill. 'It looked like Republicans were weak,' he said.

What Democrats Are Doing Next

Democrats are chasing extra cash. Their House campaign arm wants to raise $17 million (about £12.6 million) by 22 October. They think a dozen more Republican seats could be in play, including Republican Mike Turner's seat around Dayton, Ohio, which he has held for 12 terms.

If the drive hits its target, the committee plans to buy adverts around Miami, suburban St Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas. A Supreme Court ruling in June lets it coordinate those ads with campaigns. That means it can pay the cheaper rates that candidates get. Each dollar then buys more airtime on television.