The GOP outside groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS are combining to spend $10.5 million on 10 Senate races in the final week of the campaign.
Their target list includes some surprises: $420,000 in Nebraska, a seat most expected, until recently, to be a lock for state Sen. Deb Fischer (R), as well as $512,000 in New Mexico, where the group hasn't been spending and where Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has had a solid lead in most public polls. They're also spending $333,000 in Maine on a race most other groups have given up on.
But most of the groups' biggest investments are to shore up struggling Republican candidates in top-tier races. The group is spending $2.3 million in Wisconsin to help former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R), a huge sum in the relatively inexpensive state. They're also spending $1.5 million to help Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R), whose recent missteps have put his campaign in a bind.
The other targets are in Montana, where they'll blitz the inexpensive airwaves with nearly $1 million, as well as Nevada, North Dakota, Virginia and Ohio, all Democrat-held seats where the groups have spent months advertising.
