Supreme Court ruling may help widen money advantage for Collins and Republicans in Senate race
Supreme Court Strikes Down Limits on Political Party Spending in Elections, Setting Stage for Flood of Outside Money in Maine Senate Race
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that limits on how much national political parties may spend to support candidates violate the First Amendment, a decision with immediate implications for Maine's marquee U.S. Senate contest between Republican Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Graham Platner.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion for the court's conservative justices, arguing that political parties of all stripes should be free to spend what they choose on their own candidates. "Whether the Democratic Party, the Republican Party or other parties, all political parties and candidates going forward can compete equally under the same rules regarding coordinated expenditures and can structure their fund-raising, spending and political speech on a level playing field as they see fit within the law," Kavanaugh wrote.
Justice Elena Kagan authored the dissent for the court's three liberal members, warning that the decision will deepen the influence of money in politics. "More than ever … caps on a party's coordinated expenditures are needed to stop quid pro quo corruption," Kagan wrote, adding that political parties could now effectively serve as "the candidate's checking account." Kagan pointed to the lower advertising rates that candidates receive as one reason parties would have an incentive to funnel money on a candidate's behalf.
The case grew out of a 2022 lawsuit filed by Vice President JD Vance and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which sought to overturn a campaign finance law first enacted in the wake of the Watergate scandal. That 1974 law, signed by President Gerald Ford, also created the Federal Election Commission. The Supreme Court had previously upheld the party-spending limits in a 2001 ruling involving the Colorado Republican Party.
Republicans largely celebrated Tuesday's decision, while Democrats criticized it as further empowering wealthy donors. Joe Gruters, chair of the Republican National Committee, called the ruling "a massive victory for the First Amendment" and said the RNC had been preparing for it. "We are ready to expand the ways we directly help and provide resources to Republican candidates across the country," Gruters said in a statement.
The ruling comes as campaign finance trackers project nearly $500 million will flow into the Maine Senate race — more than double the $200 million record set in 2020, when Collins last defeated a Democratic challenger, Sara Gideon. That sum would come from candidates, parties, and outside groups combined, with Maine emerging as a focal point in the national fight for control of the U.S. Senate.
Before Tuesday's decision, the federal cap on coordinated party expenditures for a Maine Senate candidate was about $152,900, based on the state's roughly 1.17 million voting-age residents. National limits ranged from roughly $130,600 to about $4 million depending on state population. Limits on coordinated party spending for House candidates were set at $65,300 in Maine and most other states. Political action committees have long been able to spend unlimited amounts independently, though they cannot coordinate directly with campaigns — a distinction the court's ruling has now erased for the major parties.
In Maine, the ruling could scramble an already lopsided advertising landscape. According to AdImpact data, Republican-aligned groups have booked nearly $65 million in television and digital ads through early November to support Collins or attack Platner. Democratic-aligned groups have reserved roughly $27 million.
Collins, 73, a Caribou native seeking a sixth term, declined to comment beyond a statement from her campaign saying it was reviewing the decision. Platner, 41, an oysterman from Sullivan and a military veteran, was more pointed. He said the National Republican Senatorial Committee "wants to make it easier for billionaires to buy elections, and Susan Collins' Supreme Court opened the floodgates."
His campaign manager, Ben Chin, told reporters that the Platner team feels confident about competing directly with Collins' campaign. "We feel really good about going toe to toe with Sen. Collins' campaign, particularly on the spending side," Chin said. But he added that Democratic efforts are being outmatched by the wave of Republican outside spending. "We are being absolutely blown out of the water," Chin said.
Federal filings show Platner has raised more than $16 million since launching his campaign last August, compared with roughly $12 million for Collins. The Republican National Committee entered the summer with about $125 million in the bank, while the Democratic National Committee held roughly $14 million and carried around $18 million in debt. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has also outpaced its Democratic counterpart in cash on hand by about $10 million.
Outside groups are already playing a major role. Pine Tree Results PAC, which is funded by a roster of wealthy donors, has been working to reelect Collins. Platner told reporters his team is working to set up a joint fundraising committee with national Democratic groups, a strategy that Gov. Janet Mills employed earlier in the cycle before suspending her Senate campaign in late April amid weak fundraising and polling.
Recent public polling shows Collins and Platner locked in a tight contest in a year that also features high-stakes races for governor and Maine's 2nd Congressional District.
Legal observers note the ruling builds on the logic of the court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which lifted restrictions on independent corporate and union spending in elections. With Tuesday's decision, the court has now extended similar latitude to the political parties themselves, a shift that both parties say will reshape how campaigns are funded for years to come.
