WASHINGTON – Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s political action committee has made a last minute injection of $29.5 million in campaign advertising trying to help Democrats in key House races.
The independent expenditures by Independence USA PAC, whose sole funder is Bloomberg, have all occurred in about the last week.
It’s the most spent by any PAC during that period on independent expenditures supporting or opposing a candidate, according to a USA TODAY review of Federal Election Commission records.
Committees are required in the final days leading up to Election Day to report such spending to the FEC within 24 to 48 hours.
The website for Independence USA PAC states that it focuses its support on those who back tougher gun laws, and improved education and environmental policy.
Bloomberg said last week that he would be spending a total of $110 million on the midterm election.
Bloomberg, an independent, announced in June that he was supporting Democratic efforts to recapture the House. “Republicans in Congress have had almost two years to prove they could govern responsibly. They failed,” he said then.
The PAC has spent at least $1 million on advertising targeting 10 candidates. Of those, it spent $2 million or more on three candidates.
Those are:
Katie Hill (D-Calif.), support, $4.5 million
Steve Horsford (D-Nev.), support, $2.7 million
Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), support, $2.2 million
Other committees who have been especially active in the past week include the National Republican Congressional Committee, which pushes for GOP House candidates. It paid out $26.8 million in independent expenditures in the past week.
The Senate Leadership Fund PAC and the Senate Majority PAC each paid out more than $18 million on independent expenditures in the last week.
The Leadership Fund attempts to maintain GOP control of the Senate; the Majority PAC tries to help Democrats take control of the Senate.
More: Out-of-state donors pour cash into campaigns of Democrats across the country
More: Exclusive: Three-quarters of the secret money in recent elections came from 15 groups
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