WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for political parties to buy television advertisements at special reduced rates in the lead-up to the midterm elections.

Republicans are pushing a broad interpretation of a federal law guaranteeing that certain TV ads can be purchased at a discount. A division of the Federal Communications Commission embraced that position earlier this year.

Four Democratic candidates for Congress sued to challenge the policy, but the Supreme Court in a four-page decision said the lawsuit was premature.

The court's decision, though technically a short-term measure, allows the Trump administration to enforce the discount-rate policy for now.

As a practical matter, the ruling will likely enhance the spending power of political parties as they battle for control of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterms.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a one-paragraph dissent from the court's unsigned decision.

The law at issue says that, in the 60 days before a general election, broadcasters must give preferential advertising rates to candidates running for office. In March, the FCC Media Bureau issued a public notice stating that the preferential rates must be given not only to candidates buying ads with their own campaign money, but also to political parties buying ads in coordination with candidates.

Democrats argued that only candidates-not parties or other fundraising committees-are entitled to take advantage of the advertising discounts. The candidates who challenged the policy are Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan.

In April, the Democrats asked the full FCC to set aside the Media Bureau's public notice. The agency hasn't ruled on that request.

Last week, an appeals court ruled for the Democrats and said the policy was illegal. That prompted the congressional fundraising arms of the Republican Party to file an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court. The Trump administration supported the GOP in its bid to allow the policy to take effect immediately.

The high court said the Democrats' lawsuit was premature because the full FCC hadn't yet acted on their bid to set aside the new policy. The Democrats said they waited nearly two months for an FCC verdict before filing their lawsuit and argued they shouldn't have to wait indefinitely.

The court also said the GOP was suffering "irreparable harm" from the appeals court's improper ruling. "Broadcasters are already rescinding favorable rates" as a result of that ruling, the court wrote.

Advertising rates for political parties have taken on renewed salience this year in the wake of an earlier Supreme Court decision that struck down federal limits on how much money parties can spend in coordination with candidates. In a polarized 6-3 ruling in June, the court found that the limits violated the First Amendment, meaning that parties can now spend unlimited money on broadcast ads that are produced in direct consultation with candidates.

As a result of the court's new decision on Friday, all of those coordinated ads will-at least for now-be entitled to the lowest prices that broadcasters offer to any advertiser.