Dems and GOP quietly bankroll dozens of third-party spoilers

More than 40 third-party candidates in pivotal House and Senate races across the country are receiving support from outside super PACs, many of which have ties to the two major parties, an Axios analysis has found. Why it matters: The sums being thrown around, which total more than $16.5 million, are far greater than virtually any of those candidates have raised or spent on their own. The super PACs have spent an average of $375,000 more than the third-party candidates they are supporting. More than half of the 43 candidates haven't filed any financial paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. While it is a comparative drop in the bucket for a midterm that has already seen billions in ad spending nationally, the money will likely play an outsized role in races that are set to be decided by razor-thin margins. Those races, in turn, will help decide the balance of power in Congress next year. Data: Federal Election Commission; Note: Heikes is a self-identified Republican, but Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is the Republican Party-endorsed candidate in the race; Table: Andrew Solender/Axios The top spenders nationwide have been a pair of obscure groups which, like many of the other "pop-up" super PACs in this story, were formed this month and therefore won't have to disclose their donors until after Election Day. Buckeye Freedom PAC has reported spending more than $3.8 million on ads in Ohio's U.S. Senate election supporting Libertarian Bill Redpath and opposing Republican Sen. John Husted, who is in a tight race with Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown. Alaska Values PAC has disclosed spending $3.8 million backing Gerald Heikes, a self-identified Republican running on Alaska's ranked-choice U.S. Senate ballot with Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola. Between the lines : Third-party candidates in Alaska are facing national scrutiny after the New York Times reported that Heikes and another self-proclaimed Republican on the ballot, Dan J. Sullivan, wer