A federal appeals court has sided with four Democratic candidates, voting 2-1 to set aside a Public Notice from the FCC Media Bureau that would have extended the lowest unit charge to political parties and joint fundraising committees ahead of this fall’s midterms.
The three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit voted to grant a petition for review filed by former Ohio Senator and current Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, former North Carolina Governor and Senate candidate Roy Cooper, and Michigan Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet.
At issue is the lowest unit charge, a statutory requirement that during the 45 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election, stations must charge qualified candidates their lowest advertising rate for the same class and amount of airtime. The Media Bureau’s notice held that the requirement also extends to political parties and joint fundraising committees with non-candidate members in certain circumstances, an interpretation the FCC defended and that the National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee joined as intervenors to support.
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