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Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, a newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. Happy Monday! We hope the Amazon Web Services outage didn’t derail the start to your week. We’re now 15 days out from the November elections. In today’s edition, Ben Kamisar digs into the ad spending edge Democrats have established in the top races, while Bridget Bowman reports on how the party’s White House hopefuls are getting involved. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. — Adam Wollner Democrats have an ad spending advantage in this year’s biggest elections By Ben Kamisar Democrats have something important in common across the three highest-profile elections coming in November: an edge on ad spending. Money doesn’t buy everything in campaigns — or else the history books would look very different. But the data, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact, tells a story about the state of each race. California’s redistricting ballot measure: Democratic-aligned groups have spent more than $66 million asking Californians to vote “Yes” on the measure to approve a new congressional map that could net the party up to five additional House seats. The top ads pan what they call President Donald Trump’s “unprecedented power grab to steal congressional seats and rig the 2026 election” by pushing for new maps in Texas, Missouri and elsewhere. The “No” side of the race is extraordinarily well-funded compared to most campaigns but, at almost $28 million spent on ads opposing the redistricting push so far, it falls well below the “Yes” side financially. The “No” ads have tried to frame Gov. Gavin Newsom as the bogeyman, arguing the Democrat wants to steal power from the independent redistricting commission because he “wants the same politicians who failed California to draw their own safe seats and rig elections to help make himself president.” Virginia governor: Democrat Abigail Spanberger’s campaign has spent almost $40 million on ads this year, more than double the more than $18 million coming from Republican Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign. What’s especially notable is that there hasn’t been a massive influx of Republican dollars, like there was in 2021, to close the gap this year. Spanberger’s top ads focus tightly on economic issues, tying Earle-Sears to Trump and arguing the two are “raising prices for everything.” Meanwhile, Earle-Sears’ ads have attacked Spanberger over transgender policies in schools and, more recently, the violent text messages sent a few years ago by Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones. New Jersey governor: Since the primary elections ended, Democrats have spent $41 million to the GOP’s $29 million. Outside groups are the top two spenders: $23 million from the Democratic-aligned Greater Garden State, and $13 million from the GOP-aligned Restore NJ. At the governor candidate level, Republican Jack Ciattarelli has the spending edge with $13 million, compared to Democrat Mikie Sherrill’s $10.5 million. There’s also relative unanimity in the advertising on the ground the two sides are fighting over — the economy. All of the top ads in the race focus on various economic themes, battling over rising electric bills, over whose policies could make them worse, and over which party’s tax policies would be more harmful. Read more from Ben → Potential 2028 presidential contenders hit the trail ahead of November’s elections By Bridget Bowman PARAMUS, N.J. — As Detroit rapper Gmac Cash’s “Big Gretch” blared through the speakers at a union hall, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer walked out onto the rally stage. But the Democrat wasn’t campaigning in her home state. Whitmer found herself in New Jersey on Saturday morning, just more than two weeks before voters there select their next governor, in one of two gubernatorial contests in the country this year. “Some of you might know me as ‘Big Gretch,’” Whitmer said. “Some people refer to me as ‘that woman from Michigan.’ However you know me, I am damn glad to be here in the Garden State this morning.” The two-term governor then made her pitch for Rep. Mikie Sherrill to join the ranks of Democratic governors — a speech that also doubled as a potential preview of a Whitmer pitch to lead the Democratic Party. She is among the possible presidential hopefuls hitting the campaign trail in New Jersey and Virginia as Democrats try to chart a path forward after President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also joined Sherrill over the weekend, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota stumped for Sherrill earlier this month. In Virginia, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to appear with former Rep. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday, while Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear hit the campaign trail in the state last month. There could be more to come before Nov. 4. A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told Politico that the governor is expected to campaign in neighboring New Jersey. A Shapiro spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on his plans. “We generally bring people into the community where the community has been asking for this surrogate,” Sherill told reporters after a Sunday morning event with Moore in Newark, when asked if former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris would be joining her on the campaign trail. Sherrill said “multiple people” had requested Moore come to the state. She also noted that her campaign received similar requests regarding Whitmer and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a New Jersey native and potential presidential contender who was recently scheduled to campaign with Sherrill but could not make the event. Sherrill said her campaign has reached out to “several” potential surrogates. Read more from Bridget → 📊 Data dive: Steve Kornacki explores how the surprising inroads that Trump made in traditionally Democratic nonwhite areas of New Jersey in 2024 have added an unpredictable variable into this year’s governor’s race. That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
