Fourth Circuit Sets Sept. 15 Deadline in FCC Political Ad-Rate Fight

The Fourth Circuit has accelerated a case over discounted political broadcast advertising rates and ordered the Federal Communications Commission to respond by September 15.

The order, filed September 9 in In re: Sherrod Brown, Jon Ossoff, Roy A. Cooper III and Kristen McDonald Rivet, No. 26-2230, grants the candidates’ request for an expedited schedule. It does not decide whether the court should issue a writ of mandamus, and it does not order the FCC to change advertising rates.

What the new order does

Judges King and Wynn voted to expedite the proceeding. Judge Wilkinson dissented, arguing that the Supreme Court’s recent stay counseled against leaving the advertising market in uncertainty during the weeks before the 2026 midterm elections.

The FCC’s September 15 deadline is a deadline to file an answer to the mandamus petition. It is not a deadline for the agency to decide its underlying administrative matter, and it is not a deadline for the Fourth Circuit to issue a final ruling.

Why political advertisers are watching

The dispute concerns “lowest unit charge” rates, the discounted broadcast rates that legally qualified candidates generally can receive during election periods. The candidates challenging the FCC argue that the agency unlawfully extended those rates to political parties and certain joint fundraising committees that include non-candidate members.

The practical question is whether those party and committee advertisers can continue seeking the same discounted rates available to candidates while campaigns compete for television and radio inventory. The dispute does not concern ordinary commercial advertising.

How the case reached this point

On August 25, the Fourth Circuit ruled in the related case Brown v. Federal Communications Commission, No. 26-1785. The court concluded that the FCC’s March 30 public notice unlawfully broadened eligibility for lowest-unit-charge rates beyond legally qualified candidates.

That judgment is currently stayed. On September 4, the Supreme Court recalled and stayed the Fourth Circuit’s mandate pending the filing and disposition of a timely petition for a writ of certiorari. If the Supreme Court denies review, the stay will terminate automatically.

The Supreme Court said the Fourth Circuit likely lacked statutory jurisdiction because the candidates’ application for review remained pending before the FCC when they sought judicial review. That was a preliminary assessment in the stay proceeding, not a final ruling resolving every issue in the case.

Two related proceedings

The expedited mandamus case, No. 26-2230, is separate from the underlying petition for review, No. 26-1785. The cases are connected because both concern the FCC’s treatment of political advertising rates and the agency’s pending administrative process.

The Supreme Court’s stay has created a parallel-track dispute: the Fourth Circuit is considering whether to require action on the mandamus petition, while the party committees may seek Supreme Court review of the August 25 judgment and its jurisdictional foundation.

What happens next

The immediate next step is the FCC’s filing due September 15. The Fourth Circuit could then decide whether further briefing or expedited action is warranted. The party committees involved in the Supreme Court proceeding may also seek review of the August 25 decision.

For candidates, party committees, joint fundraising groups and broadcasters, the key point is continued uncertainty. The September 9 order speeds up the court schedule, but it does not restore, cancel or finally define which political advertisers may receive the lowest broadcast rates during the 2026 campaign.

Sources

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