Meanwhile, Republican group reserves $5.5 million in Denver market

The leading House Democratic super PAC is booking more than $9 million in fall TV and digital advertising across three Colorado media markets as part of an aggressive move to win control of the chamber in this year’s midterm elections.

The House Majority PAC, a group aligned with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, announced plans Thursday to reserve $272 million in initial ad buys nationally in 68 markets, including Denver, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction, a spokeswoman told Colorado Politics. The reservation marks a big increase from the $186 million it booked out of the gate in 2024.

While the group typically decides how to allocate its ad dollars closer to the November election, the early reservations suggest the Democrats could target freshmen U.S. Reps. Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd and Jeff Crank — expanding the state’s House battleground beyond the toss-up 8th Congressional District, where Evans will face the winner of a three-way Democratic primary.

“HMP’s historic television and digital ad reservations reflect that Democrats are firmly on offense heading into November,” HMP President Mike Smith said in a statement. “While Democrats are expanding the map nationwide, House Republicans are losing ground after failing to lower costs, making health care more expensive, and dragging us into another costly and unpopular foreign war.”

House Democrats need to flip three seats to take the gavel from Republicans.

The national reservation announced Thursday includes $80 million in digital ads across multiple platforms, twice the $40 million HMP initially reserved in digital media two years ago, the group said. HMP is also more than doubling its initial Spanish-language reservations compared to the 2024 cycle.

The group’s House Republican counterpart, the Congressional Leadership Fund, also unveiled its initial fall ad reservations on Thursday, with $5.5 million earmarked for spending in a single Colorado media market, likely devoted to protecting Evans in the targeted swing seat he represents.

CLF announced $153.1 million in total national bookings across TV, cable and digital platforms, the group said in a release, marking its largest commitment at the start of the season on record.

The GOP group, which is aligned with House Speaker Mike Johnson and the chamber’s Republican leadership, described its first wave of reservations as part of a narrower, more defensive strategy than the one planned by Democrats.

“Our record fundraising gives us the firepower we need to make a significant first investment to protect our House Majority,” CLF President Chris Winkelman said in a statement. “This initial reserve reflects the reality that this cycle, again, will be fought on a narrow map. Republicans hold the terrain, and it’s a tall order for Democrats to break through our strong, battle-tested incumbents. This reserve shows we are committed to defending our own while aggressively supporting our candidates on offense.”

According to figures provided to Colorado Politics, the Democratic-aligned group’s largest reservations in Colorado are in the Denver media market, with $6.85 million in TV and digital buys and $810,500 in Spanish-language media. The market, the largest and most expensive in the state, reaches voters in most of Colorado’s eight congressional districts, including Evans’ 8th CD and the sprawling 3rd Congressional District, where Hurd is seeking a second term.

The Republican group said it’s reserving $5.5 million in the Denver market.

Evans won one of the closest House races in the country in 2024, when the former state lawmaker unseated a first-term Democratic incumbent by less than 1 percentage point in the state’s newest district. This year, three Democrats are vying in the June primary for the chance to to challenge Evans in November: state Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Commerce City; former state Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Westminster; and political newcomer Evan Munsing.

Hurd won election in the Western Slope-based district two years ago by a more comfortable, roughly 5-point margin when he defended the Republican-held seat after its incumbent, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, moved across the state into the state’s safest GOP district. This time, Hurd faces a primary against former state Rep. Ron Hanks, R-Cañon City. Two Pitkin County Democrats — Alex Kelloff and Dwayne Romero — are running in their party’s primary in the district.

HMP’s next-largest reservation in the state totals $1.16 million in the Colorado Springs market, which covers the El Paso County-based 5th Congressional District, where Crank is seeking reelection after winning in 2024 by 14 points. In the fall, Crank will face the winner of a primary between Democrats Jessica Killin and Joe Reagan. The media market also includes parts of the 3rd CD.

Grand Junction, the smallest and most affordable media market contained entirely within Colorado, landed $280,000 in HMP’s early ad reservations. Its viewers all live within the 3rd CD.

CLF, the Republican group, didn’t include the Colorado Springs and Grand Junction markets in the reservations announced on Thursday, suggesting that the House GOP doesn’t consider Crank and Hurd vulnerable.

The other biggest players in House elections, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee, have yet to release their first round of ad reservations.

The initial ad reservations announced by HMP and CLF aren’t locked in and could change as the election nears — typically, hotly contested races wind up with more spending as the general election approaches, and less attainable races lose funding — but by booking early, the group can lock in lower ad rates in crowded markets before other campaigns buy up the inventory.