Koch Network to Tap $400 Million Lode for Ads to Sway 2018 Vote

(Bloomberg) -- The conservative political network led by billionaires Charles and David Koch is planning an early advertising blitz to try to help Republicans hold majorities in Congress in the 2018 midterms.

The television and online ad campaign that's slated to start in the next few months is part of the roughly $400 million the organization has pledged to spend trying to influence policy and politics during the two-year election cycle that culminates with November's elections. That total represents a 60 percent increase over what the network spent during the 2016 cycle and includes all of its state and national activities to try to influence policy and elections.

During a briefing Monday at one of the group's bi-annual gatherings at a desert resort in southern California, Koch donors were told to expect a challenging campaign season for Republicans given President Donald Trump's historical unpopularity in polls.

“These elections are going to brutally tough,” said Emily Seidel, who directs political strategy for the Koch-affiliated Freedom Partners group. “We've never faced a challenge like this one.”

Early Ad Spending

The group's reasons for early ad spending are both financial and tactical. Advertising rates for many types of campaign ads are always higher closer to an election because of supply and demand for time slots. Later advertising is also less effective, Seidel said, citing data she said shows 60 percent of voters in 2016 were locked in on the candidates they wanted to support by the end of August.

“Let's fight and let's fight now,” Seidel said.

After the network finishes its advertising blitz around the end of June, Seidel said it plans to focus on using its grassroots activists in 36 states to work door-to-door. "Grassroots is more effective towards the end, when we are looking to influence the undecided voters," she said.

Democrats need a net gain of 24 seats to take the House and two to secure a majority in the Senate, an outcome well within the bounds of historical precedent in midterms.

“This Senate majority may come down to a single seat,” Seidel told the 550 donors and prospective donors during the final day of the three-day summit near Palm Springs.

Direct Mail Effort

From May through August, the network will conduct a “massive direct mail and digital effort” to try to influence midterm voters, Tim Phillips, president of the Koch-affiliated advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity, told donors.

“House races develop later than Senate races and gubernatorial races,” so that will also be factored into the network's strategy, Phillips said. He said there are 23 House seats held by Republicans in districts that were carried by Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and that there have been 16 GOP retirements already announced in competitive districts.

“These are daunting numbers,” he said, adding that he expects about 80 House seats to be competitive by closer to the election.

To contact the reporter on this story: John McCormick in Chicago at jmccormick16@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum

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