The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down caps on coordinated spending by political parties and candidates could boost GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton, giving national Republicans a new tool to eat into James Talarico’s fundraising edge.
Impact on Texas Senate Race
The 6-to-3 decision eliminated federal limits on how much political parties could spend on expenses like advertising in coordination with their candidates, with the high court finding that such caps violated the First Amendment.
As a result, political parties can spend without limit, in direct coordination with candidates, likely opening the floodgates to even more political advertising and spending.
“This is a massive victory for the First Amendment,” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said in a statement. “The RNC has been preparing for this ruling, and we are ready to expand the ways we directly help and provide resources to Republican candidates across the country.”
Local Angle
The ruling could be especially meaningful in Texas’ U.S. Senate race, where Talarico has posted astronomical fundraising totals while Paxton has lagged not just his opponent, but other Republicans in key states.
Trey Trainor, a longtime GOP operative in Texas who previously chaired the Federal Election Commission, said the decision “would definitely make up for any of the fundraising woes that [Paxton’s] had here in Texas.”
While the decision does grant both parties the same coordination powers, Republicans are expected to reap more immediate benefits.
Democratic fundraising, including the party’s robust small-dollar donation machine, has generally flowed to candidates — whose campaigns are subject to individual contribution limits. Republicans, on the other hand, typically rely more on larger donors who funnel their money to the party, meaning their party apparatus is far better-funded — and, with Tuesday’s ruling, can now freely use that cash to close their candidates’ funding gaps.
Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
