Most of the money so far has been spent by groups backing Mandel.
Democrats say the amount represents the most spending by outside groups of any Senate race in the country. Mandel’s supporters say Ohio, with at least four major media markets, is an expensive state to run a campaign in. For outside groups to get involved, they say, requires more money by necessity.
The race, along with a handful of other U.S. Senate races, could decide which party controls the Senate beginning next year. Democrats hold a slim majority, with 51 Democrats, 47 Republicans and two independents who traditionally vote with Democrats.
So far in Ohio, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has spent more than $2.4 million in the campaign. The 60 Plus Association, which bills itself as a conservative alternative to the AARP, has spent more than $1.4 million. That group spent $720,000 for ads that began airing in mid-March. Brittany Gross, a spokesman for the 60 Plus Association, said the ad was an issues ad that focused on a portion of the 2009 health care bill. The group ran a similar one in November 2011, featuring Pat Boone urging viewers to call Brown about the health care bill.
So far just one group has aired ads in support of Brown — the League of Conservation Voters.
The group released an ad in the Columbus media market last week thanking Brown for his support of clean energy. A League of Conservation Voter spokeswoman, Kate Geller, would not disclose how much the organization is spending, but said it was “well into the six figures” and will air for two weeks.
“This will be serious saturation,” Geller said.
Crossroads GPS, the conservative advocacy organization affiliated with former George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove, has spent about $800,000 on two issue ad buys urging voters to contact Brown.
“You could say this race is one of our higher priorities,” said Bryan Goettel, senior manager of media relations for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who declined to talk about the amount the chamber spent. “We went up with ads earlier than ever before.”
He said the chamber picked Brown in part because of how he fares on the chamber’s “scorecard” — how he votes on legislative issues important to the chamber. Among the issues that the chamber has weighed in on was the 2009 health care law — it was squarely opposed to that. In all, the U.S. Chamber has engaged in eight U.S. Senate races and 12 House races.
While conservative groups have come out in strength against Brown, Republicans say they expect Democrats, too, will weigh in against Mandel. But it’s early — Mandel only officially became the Republican candidate earlier this month. The Ohio Democratic Party has worked to fill in the gaps with near-daily press releases blasting Mandel for everything from skipping meetings of the Ohio Board of Deposits to a recent fundraising trip to the Bahamas.
“We fully expect to be outspent by Sherrod Brown’s deep-pocketed special interest friends in Washington,” said Travis Considine, a Mandel spokesman.
Considine said Mandel “will remain focused on fighting for new jobs and new sources of American energy, beginning right here in Ohio.”
But Justin Barasky, a Brown spokesman, said outside groups will likely weigh in far more heavily on behalf of Mandel and against Brown than vice versa.
“We don’t have as much special interest money as Republicans,’ he said.
Political analysts say outside money spent on this race may overwhelm amounts from past races.
In 2006, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, outside groups spent $17.9 million on the race between then-Sen. Mike DeWine and Brown. In 2010, outside groups spent $3.2 million on the race between Sen. Rob Portman and Democrat Lee Fisher.
But a series of 2010 court rulings upended campaign finance rules, allowing private business and unions to spend an unlimited amount money on political campaigns.
The Center for Responsive Politics reports that outside groups have spent more than $91 million as of March 23 on political campaigns. In 2008, outside groups had spent about $38 million as of March 23.
Jessica Taylor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report said that the Brown-Mandel race is not considered one of the top competitive races in the country. But because of the 2010 court rulings, it wouldn’t surprise her to see it becomes one of the most expensive races in Ohio history, in large part because of outside spending.
Jennifer Duffy, a political analyst with the Cook Political Report, said the outside spending is just the beginning. “It’s not all campaign ads,” she said. “Some is issue stuff. But I would expect more. It’s a swing state for the presidential election, so it’s going to be a focus of a lot of love.”
And even though Republicans do not yet have a nominee for president, outside spending is beginning to filter into Ohio for the presidential general election. Last week, Crossroads GPS launched a $650,000 buy on nationwide cable and in the Columbus media market focused on high gas prices and President Obama. The issue ad, titled “Deflect,” ran from March 21-23.
That so much will be spent in Ohio is a reflection of the state’s battleground status — not just in the Senate race, but also in the presidential race.
“Ohio is one of the ones where people see Democrats being vulnerable,” Goettel said.
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