Can $1B buy victory in the midterm elections? Some Republicans fear the answer is no

Republicans enter the final month of the midterm campaign holding about $1 billion across six groups, yet some in the party fear it cannot offset President Donald Trump's unpopularity, voter worry about costs and fallout from the war in Iran. MAGA Inc., which had nearly $416 million at the end of August, only recently began pouring money into key races, according to ABC News.

The timing is expensive. Four Republican Senate campaign officials, speaking anonymously, said groups that booked airtime in spring paid far less, and Trump-linked organizations sometimes pay over five times as much now. In Texas, where no Democrat has won a Senate seat since 1988, AdImpact data show MAGA Inc. averaging about $894 per airing and Texas PAC, aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, about $809, against roughly $290 for Democrat Talarico's campaign. Republican pollster Neil Newhouse said ads running well before Labor Day do the most good.

Democratic groups hold at least roughly $579 million. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the spending "obscene" but bet that better candidates and a favorable climate would win out.

Summarized by PolitiKool from ABC News’s reporting. Read the full story at ABC News →