For one of the few times in recent weeks and months, a political campaign committee is not announcing a major ad buy in the Keystone State.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is allocating more than $100 million on advertising as part of its efforts to win back the chamber for the GOP.

The campaign arm of Senate Republicans began placing reservations for independent expenditures in television and digital advertising today in four states – Ohio, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona. The first two are rated toss-ups by the Cook Political Report (CPR), while the other pair are viewed as competitive or ‘Lean D.’

CPR rates the Pennsylvania contest as ‘Lean D.’ Also left out of the ad buy were Montana (toss-up) and Wisconsin (lean D).

“Dave McCormick is the first candidate in the country the NRSC ran coordinated ads with this cycle,” said spokesman Philip Letsou. “We will continue to spend heavily in Pennsylvania because it is one of our top pickup opportunities.”

The outline of the plan sheds light on how the Senate GOP attempts to overcome a cash deficit with the Democrats and turn around losses in each of the last two cycles – count of deep-pocketed candidates to self-fund and draw big donors, use President Joe Biden’s unpopularity to save money in key battleground states, and supplement efforts with independent expenditures such as these.

Emblematic of the plan is the lack of inclusion of Pennsylvania in the initial investments. Republican challenger Dave McCormick finds himself six points behind incumbent Democrat Bob Casey in the race for the U.S. Senate, according to the latest Emerson College poll. But the NRSC is coordinating ad campaigns with the McCormick camp.

McCormick started the second quarter of 2024 with $6.4 million on hand, but trailed Casey’s $11.9 million war chest.

“This investment is a reflection of the fact that Senate Democrats are on defense all over the country,” NRSC Executive Director Jason Thielman said. “Joe Biden’s extreme unpopularity has given us a chance to build a lasting Senate Majority. We have the right candidates and the right message, now we need to execute.”

updated to include NRSC comment