A Republican super PAC supporting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) mistakenly ran digital advertisements in Portland, Oregon, rather than Portland, Maine, in a costly vendor error that highlights the perils of targeted political spending.
The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) confirmed that its media vendor, Cross Screen Media, misplaced approximately $25,000 in digital advertising in the Portland, Oregon, media market. The error was first reported by NBC News.
"During a recent independent expenditure, our media vendor mistakenly placed approximately $25,000 in digital advertising in the Portland, Oregon media market instead of Portland, Maine," an RMSP spokesperson told The Hill. "The error was identified, the ads were immediately stopped and corrected, and the vendor is refunding Defending Main Street the full amount of the misplaced spend. No donor funds will be lost as a result of the vendor's error."
According to Google Ads Transparency Center, the ads ran for four days and targeted various zip codes around the Portland, Oregon, area. Before being taken down, the ads were shown over 1 million times to people across all demographics in Oregon. One Portland, Oregon, resident noted on social platform X that she received "5 anti-Troy Jackson ads in the last 24 hours."
Sarah Chamberlain, president and CEO of RMSP, expressed fury over the mistake. "It has nothing to do with us. I would never run an ad in Portland, Oregon, for Susan Collins, for Christ's sake," Chamberlain told NBC News.
Cross Screen Media released a statement on Monday, acknowledging full responsibility. "It was 100% our mistake," the company said, adding that it has refunded $25,909.61 to the super PAC and has begun running the ads in Portland, Maine.
The mix-up comes as Collins seeks a sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson, the former president of Maine's state Senate. The two recently faced off in a debate that focused on the impact of Trump administration tariffs against Canada on Maine residents, as covered in their fiery debate over Canada tariffs. Collins has also made headlines for announcing early release of LIHEAP funds to help Mainers with heating costs.
Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, gives Jackson a 54 percent chance of flipping the seat, underscoring the competitiveness of the race. The ad blunder may provide fodder for critics, but RMSP insists it will not affect the campaign's financial resources.
This is not the first time a political ad has gone astray due to geographic confusion. However, the scale of this error—over 1 million impressions in the wrong state—is unusual. It remains to be seen whether the mistaken ads will have any unintended impact on voters in Oregon, where Collins is not on the ballot.
