Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.We’ve detailed in recent weeks how the Senate map has shifted in the final stretch of the midterm campaign.In today’s edition, Ben Kamisar digs into how the House landscape is changing.
Plus, Andrea Mitchell examines the latest dilemma facing Ukraine.— Adam WollnerRepublicans shift funds in the battle for the HouseBy Ben KamisarFacing a stormy political forecast, Republican groups are making hard choices about which candidates may get left out in the rain.Millions of dollars in GOP ad reservations have been cut in the last few days in a pair of battleground districts represented by Tom Kean Jr.of New Jersey and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, according to AdImpact, an ad tracking service.Meanwhile, Republican groups are also pulling some resources from races in which they had hoped to put the pressure on Democratic lawmakers in competitive districts.
Instead, they’ve been pouring money elsewhere, including in open seats or districts where Republican incumbents now appear locked in tougher contests.The GOP is still looking to press its big-money advantage across the House map.
But more and more, it’s about playing defense in Republican-held seats — or even getting an extra boost in districts the party redrew ahead of the midterms — as places President Donald Trump won by around 10 percentage points in 2024 haven’t proved to be easy terrain.Kean had always faced tough re-election prospects in a seat Trump carried by just over 1 point two years ago.His district, in the New York City media market, is also one of the most expensive in the country for advertising.
But Kean never fully regained his footing after a four-month disappearance from public view, which he later revealed was because he sought treatment for depression.Miller-Meeks is also no stranger to tou...