WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal from Republicans in a dispute over campaign ad prices on Friday, clearing a legal roadblock to political parties getting cheaper TV ad time ahead of the midterm elections.
The justices halted for now a lower-court ruling in favor of Democratic candidates who argued that cheaper broadcast ads should be limited to candidates. One justice publicly dissented from the unsigned order. It’s the latest election-related appeal to come before the high court ahead of the pivotal November contests.
The Trump administration supported the emergency appeal from GOP campaign arms.
The decision comes on the heels of a June Supreme Court ruling that removed limits on parties spending money in coordination with candidates. It was seen as a boon to the GOP because the national party has a sizable cash advantage, and access to cheaper ad rates could boost that edge.
Among Democrats, meanwhile, some individual candidates have sizable fundraising advantages over their Republican opponents.
Candidates pay discounted rates for TV time around an election under federal law, and in March the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau said certain party-coordinated ads are entitled to those prices as well.
Four Democrats, including Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, challenged the finding in court. They won a victory from a divided panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of appeals.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee then asked the Supreme Court to intervene. They argued that broadcasters were already charging them higher rates and upending their planned budgets after the appeals court decision.
The majority of justices agreed that the lower court had acted too soon with the order that differed from judges around the country.
“Current and future recissions will require the party committees to pay more for advertising space, thereby hampering their efforts to reach the electorate in the critical weeks leading up to the midterms,” the Supreme Court order states.
One justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, disagreed, writing that the court likely didn’t have to wait until an internal FCC review was done.
The decision halts the appeals court ruling while the Republican committees file a fuller appeal.
