WASHINGTON — Spending in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race is ramping up.
The Democratic Senate Majority PAC says it’s reserving $10 million of Alaska TV time to air political ads.
The political action committee said by email that it will support Democrat Mary Peltola against Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. The announcement also suggested a possible theme would be rising costs and Sullivan’s loyalty to President Trump.
Reserving TV time isn’t a binding commitment, but the group’s announcement signals national Democrats believe they should invest in the Alaska race and that they think Sullivan might be vulnerable.
Campaign finance laws allow super PACs like Senate Majority PAC to raise and spend unlimited funds, but they aren’t allowed to coordinate with a candidate’s campaign.
Typically, super PACS and other non-candidate campaigns air some of the harsher attack ads, leaving the candidates themselves free to run ads that project a positive image.
The Democratic House Majority PAC announced last month that it plans to spend $2.4 million on ads in Alaska.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee says it’s investing in the ground game ahead of November’s midterm elections. The party says it’s already deployed staffers to take Trump’s message directly to Alaska voters.. A spokesman for the RNC wouldn’t disclose how many people it has sent to Alaska but said more are on the way.
