SCOTUS Hands GOP Midterm Win Over Political Advertising Rates

Four Democratic congressional candidates challenged that policy before the FCC and later asked the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to invalidate it while their administrative challenge remained pending.

The Fourth Circuit sided with the Democratic challengers on August 25 and set aside the FCC notice, meaning party committees would no longer automatically receive the lower candidate rates.

Republican committees then turned to the Supreme Court, arguing that losing the discounts so close to the midterms would force them to spend significantly more money for advertising they had already planned around the lower rates.