Democratic candidates urge Supreme Court to uphold ruling limiting GOP access to discounted campaign ad rates

A coalition of Democratic congressional candidates, including Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sherrod Brown, has urged the Supreme Court to uphold a 4th Circuit ruling that blocks Republican campaign committees from accessing discounted candidate-level broadcast advertising rates. The dispute arose after the FCC expanded these cheap rates to political parties, a move the 4th Circuit struck down. Republicans argue the ruling disrupts their midterm strategy, while Democrats contend it prevents GOP party committees from using their massive cash advantage to overwhelm individual Democratic campaigns.

Claims

• ▪Lawyers for the Democratic candidates argued that the U.S. Solicitor General assured the Supreme Court in 2025 that federal law requires low broadcast rates for candidate spending but not for party spending.
• ▪The Democratic candidates argued they have standing because rival Republican committees promised to spend hundreds of millions of dollars at candidate rates to obliterate them if the Federal Communications Commission's notice stands.
• ▪The Republican National Committee holds a significant cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee, whereas Democratic candidates have outraised Republican candidates in several closely watched individual races.
• ▪Democratic candidates Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, and Kristen McDonald Rivet filed a brief on September 3, 2026, urging the Supreme Court to reject the Republican emergency petition.
• ▪The Supreme Court struck down limits on coordinated spending between political parties and candidates earlier in 2026, allowing unlimited coordinated spending.
• ▪U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit Judge Robert King wrote for the majority that federal law unambiguously restricts preferential advertising rates to a candidate for personal use, excluding a candidate's mere authorization of another entity's use.
• ▪Under federal law, legally qualified candidates for federal office can purchase broadcast advertising time at preferential rates during the 45 days before a primary election and 60 days before a general election.
• ▪The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee stated that the appeals court ruling disrupted their campaign spending strategies and budgets two months before the midterm elections.
• ▪The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee argued that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit lacked jurisdiction because the Federal Communications Commission's public notice was a non-final, staff-level document.
• ▪U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson dissented, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction because the Federal Communications Commission was still deliberating, and that the ruling restricts political speech before an election.
• ▪A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the Federal Communications Commission's public notice was contrary to law, finding that preferential advertising rates are limited to candidates.
• ▪The Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission issued a public notice in the spring of 2026 informing broadcasters that political parties and joint fundraising committees are entitled to preferential advertising rates.
• ▪The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee filed an emergency petition on August 31, 2026, asking the Supreme Court to halt the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit's ruling.

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