Supreme Court grants Republican emergency appeal on TV ad rates before midterms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal from Republicans in a dispute over campaign ad prices on Friday, removing a legal roadblock to political parties getting cheaper TV ad time ahead of the midterm elections.

The justices halted for now a lower-court ruling in favor of Democratic candidates who argued that cheaper broadcast ads should be limited to candidates. It’s the latest election-related appeal to come before the high court ahead of the pivotal November contests.

The Trump administration supported the emergency appeal from GOP campaign arms.

The decision comes on the heels of a June Supreme Court ruling that removed limits on parties spending money in coordination with candidates. It was seen as a boon to the GOP because the national party has a sizable cash advantage, and access to cheaper ad rates could boost that edge.

Among Democrats, meanwhile, some individual candidates have sizable fundraising advantages over their Republican opponents.

Candidates pay discounted rates for TV time around an election under federal law, and in March the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau said certain party-coordinated ads are entitled to those prices as well.

Four Democrats, including Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, challenged the finding in court. They won a victory from a divided panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of appeals.

The National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee then asked the Supreme Court to intervene. They argued that the appeals court had acted too soon and broadcasters were already charging them higher rates and upending their planned budgets.

The high court’s decision halts the appeals court ruling while the Republican committees appeal it.