The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday granted a petition by four Democratic politicians and set aside as unlawful an FCC Media Bureau Public Notice that would have expanded eligibility for discounted political advertising rates on broadcast stations.
In a divided panel decision, Judges Robert Bruce King and James Andrew Wynn held that federal law clearly limits the “lowest unit charge” (LUC) under 47 U.S.C. § 315(b) to legally qualified candidates and their authorized committees.
Neither political parties nor joint fundraising committees that include non-candidate members are entitled to the reduced rates for coordinated expenditures or related ads, the majority ruled. The court therefore vacated the March 30, 2026, Public Notice (DA 26-300).
The petitioners were Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. Jon Ossoff, former North Carolina Gov. Roy A. Cooper III, and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet. They challenged the guidance after the FCC’s Media Bureau asserted that the LUC applied to certain party coordinated expenditures and joint fundraising committees with non-candidate members.
National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee intervened in support of the FCC. Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gómez had sharply criticized the Public Notice, warning that it would open the door to “dark money spending” on political ads. She said the last-minute expansion, coming after a Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited coordinated spending between parties and candidates, would unleash a flood of coordinated campaign money into broadcast advertising and give the biggest political spenders an even greater advantage by extending a candidate-only discount to parties and joint fundraising committees.
Gómez argued the change relied on alleged unwritten staff guidance, bypassed public input, and conflicted with the administration’s stated position. The LUC requires broadcasters to sell airtime to qualified candidates at their lowest commercial rate during the 45 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election.
Expanding it beyond candidates had raised concerns about cost advantages for parties and outside groups amid already high midterm spending. The Fourth Circuit’s ruling restores the narrower statutory reading just weeks before the November elections, providing clearer ground rules for stations and campaigns.