Scoop: New $250K ad campaign boosts Susan Collins in Maine Senate race
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Screenshot from Senate Opportunity Fund
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) is getting more air support during the government shutdown, with a new $250,000 digital ad buy from a 501(c)(4) aligned with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).
Why it matters: The latest pro-Collins campaign comes as Maine Democrats are engaged in the early stages of a tough primary between Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner.
- But a pro-Schumer group has also been pummeling Collins on the shutdown.
- The new pro-Collins ad from the Senate Opportunity Fund brings her side close to parity with the early Democratic spend.
- It represents a tranche of GOP money — in this case, raised from anonymous donors who can give unlimited amounts — that will be available to defend the party's most endangered incumbent.
Zoom in: "Susan Collins opposed the government shutdown," the narrator says. "Now Collins is leading with a plan to reopen, protecting federal workers, keeping essential services running, and moving critical funding forward."
- "Tell Senator Collins: keep putting Maine families first," the ad concludes.
Driving the news: The two-week campaign started today with digital ads, with a talk radio version scheduled for tomorrow, with a heavy emphasis on the Augusta area.
- Earlier this month, another super PAC, Stronger Maine, went up with its own $250,000 buy for Collins.
- Pine Tree Results, which raised $5.6 million in the first half of the year, has yet to run ads this year.
- Meanwhile, Collins' official campaign raised $1.9 million in the third quarter, leaving her with $6.7 million in cash on hand at the beginning of the month.
The other side: Democratic groups are also seizing on the shutdown to soften up Collins.
- Majority Forward, a 501(c)(4) issue advocacy group affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), was the first to air a shutdown ad in Maine, has spent or reserved roughly $600,000 this month, according to AdImpact.
