US appeals court blocks FCC plan to expand discounted political advertising rates

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - ‌The U.S. Court ​of ​Appeals on Tuesday blocked a move to extend discounted broadcast television advertising rates to political party and joint fundraising committees ahead of midterm elections ‌in November.

The Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission said it would allow the ⁠committees to get the same heavily discounted rate as political candidates, in a move Democratic FCC Commissioner ‌Anna Gomez had warned would unleash ‌a flood of coordinated campaign money into broadcast advertising.

AdImpact, an advertising intelligence company, projects the 2026 election cycle will reach $11.6 billion in spending, including $5.6 billion on ​broadcast television, with control of Congress up for grabs.

Four Democratic candidates for Congress sued to block the FCC rule change, including Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Representative ⁠Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan and Senate candidates Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Roy Cooper of North Carolina.

The FCC, ​the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee argued the court lacked jurisdiction to review the notice.

The Supreme Court ​in June struck down longtime limits on how ‌much party committees may spend in coordination with federal candidates but did not address whether they could get the lower advertising rates.

The ⁠three-judge panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found in a 2-1 decision that campaign finance statutes "are clear that neither political parties nor joint fundraising committees with ⁠non-candidate members can be entitled" to discounted rates.

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson dissented, saying the majority sought to "wrest ​jurisdiction from the FCC before the commissioners can perform the role Congress assigned to them."

A spokesperson for FCC Chair Brendan Carr did not immediately comment.

The FCC suggested it was not changing policy ‌in its public notice, but the court said the FCC "failed to identify any previous guidance stating that political parties and joint ‌fundraising committees with non-candidate members can be entitled" to the discounted rates.

The lowest-cost advertising period ⁠for political candidates begins on September ‌4. Elias Law Group, which ​brought the lawsuit on behalf of the Democrats, said the "ruling is a huge blow to the Republican Party."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by ‌Jamie Freed)

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