A national group that works to elect Democrats to the House of Representatives has booked nearly $4 million worth of general election TV advertising in the Denver market, pointing to the party’s commitment to protect a vulnerable incumbent in Colorado’s swingiest district while trying to flip another, Republican-held seat.

While the House Majority PAC won’t decide how to allocate its ads until closer to the November election, a spokesman noted in an email to Colorado Politics that the Denver media market reaches voters in the state’s competitive 3rd and 8th congressional districts, both of which have been listed among the PAC’s top targets.

The massive initial nationwide ad reservation by the super PAC, which is aligned with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, totals $186 million in fall TV and digital ads across 50 media markets, more than double the group’s preliminary buy last cycle. The reservations include $40 million in digital ads across multiple platforms, up from the $15.8 million the group initially spent on digital in 2022.

“House Republicans have done nothing but sell out the American people while creating chaos, and we are holding them accountable for their anti-American extremist policies and agenda,” said HMP President Mike Smith, in a statement. “Through these historic television and digital reservations, House Majority PAC has made it clear that we are ready to do whatever it takes to flip the House and elect Hakeem Jeffries the next speaker of the House.”​

Democrats have to net four seats from Republicans to take the majority in the House.

In Colorado, Adam Frisch is making his second bid to represent the GOP-leaning, Western Slope-based 3rd CD, where the Democrat came within fewer than 600 votes of unseating Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in the last election. Boebert moved to another, more solidly Republican district earlier this year, leaving the seat open.

First-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo is defending her seat in the nearly evenly divided 8th CD, which stretches north from the Denver metro area to Greeley.

Both districts feature Republican primaries, with six GOP candidates vying for the chance to take on Frisch in the 3rd CD and two Republicans running in the 8th CD.

Unlike two years ago, when the Denver market drew the group’s third-highest initial spending nationally, this year’s $3,930,000 in TV reservations lands the Colorado city in 10th place, behind Los Angeles; New York; Portland, Ore.; Detroit; Las Vegas; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Raleigh, N.C.; and, Wilkes Barre, Penn.

The group’s Republican counterpart, the Congressional Leadership Fund, aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has yet to release its fall ad reservations but has included the same two Colorado districts on its target list.

HMP’s ad reservations aren’t set in stone and could change as the election nears, but by booking early, the group can lock in lower ad rates before other national campaigns buy up the inventory amid what’s expected to be record spending in a presidential year.