Some GOP Candidates Are Struggling. Can Mitch McConnell Save Them?
The NPR Politics Podcast
NPR
4.5 • 24.9K Ratings
🗓️ 24 October 2022
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Outside groups, including those closely tied to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have poured in nearly $1 billion to buoy GOP Senate candidates. Eighty-six percent of the money going toward pro-GOP TV ads is coming from these outside groups, compared to 55% for Democrats.
This episode: voting correspondent Ashley Lopez, political correspondent Susan Davis, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.
Support the show and unlock sponsor-free listening with a subscription to The NPR Politics Podcast Plus. Learn more at plus.npr.org/politics
Connect:
Email the show at [email protected]
Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.
Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey NPR politics podcast. This is Marta in Portland, Oregon. I'm standing outside of the DMV |
| 0:06.4 | where I registered my car and was given a license plate but ends in NPR. This podcast was recorded at |
| 0:14.0 | 12.04 Central Time on Monday, October 24th, 2022. Things may have changed by the time you hear it |
| 0:21.6 | and I'm looking forward to seeing other NPR cars driving around town. Okay, here's the show. |
| 0:30.2 | What are the odds? That's pretty deep fan status. I wonder if that's on purpose though. |
| 0:34.5 | Or if it's just the luck of the draw. I think it's just the luck of the NPR draw. Seems like it. |
| 0:39.6 | It would be cool if it was on purpose but I'm not gonna hold her to it. |
| 0:43.7 | Hey there, it's the NPR politics podcast. I'm Ashley Lopez. I cover politics. |
| 0:48.3 | Um, Susan Davis. I also cover politics and I'm a Dominican Montanera senior political editor and |
| 0:52.6 | correspondent and today we're talking about the whopping $1.6 billion that has been spent or booked |
| 0:59.1 | on TV ads in a dozen Senate races across the country. The overwhelming majority of that money is |
| 1:05.1 | being spent in just six states. That's Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada and Ohio. |
| 1:11.2 | All of this is according to an NPR analysis and data provided by the ad tracking firm ad impact. |
| 1:16.7 | The medical, this is your analysis. So I guess like the first thing I want to ask you is like, |
| 1:20.8 | where's this money coming from? Like who's funding these groups? |
| 1:24.0 | Well, you know, I mean, first of all, the outside group money that's coming in is just flooding. |
| 1:29.6 | You know, these these top six races in particular. And a lot of that money, the biggest |
| 1:34.9 | spender has been the Senate leadership fund, which is the group that has ties to Senate Republican |
| 1:41.8 | leader Mitch McConnell. Spent almost a quarter billion dollars to really boost. Frankly, some candidates |
| 1:48.4 | who were backed by Trump who had been struggling places like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Georgia in particular |
| 1:54.8 | spending 110 million there in North Carolina. Also, you know, really we haven't heard a lot about |
| 2:00.6 | that race, but Ted Bud, who's the Republican running in that race, he's only spent seven million |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.