• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Shop
  • Jobs Board
Campaigns & Elections logo

Campaigns & Elections

  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Articles
    • Industry News
    • CampaignTech
    • Creative
  • Videos
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • Reports
  • Expert Database
  • Events
  • Awards
    • Reed Awards
    • CampaignTech Awards
    • Rising Stars
  • Consultant Directory
  • Become a Member
  • Shop
  • Job Board
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

GOP primary nears $80 million price tag

The Republican friendly fire count is about to hit nine digits. Spending by the presidential candidates and their allied Super PACs will soon top $80 million and the financial bleeding is foreseen to continue. Michigan and Arizona are up next week with Super Tuesday on the horizon. 

Mitt Romney’s camp is already planning for March. In addition to its Michigan and Arizona buys, Restore Our Future PAC, the governor’s independent ally, has bought time in Ohio. ROF, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich’s ally — Winning our Future PAC — have also booked media buys in other Super Tuesday states, including Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.     

As of Friday, Republicans have spent a combined total of $77.8 million on broadcast, cable and radio advertising for the presidential primary (see full list of spenders below). Michigan alone has seen $7.2 million invested there, while Arizona has seen about $1 million.

Smart Media Group’s ad tracking goes back to last summer when the first round of GOP primary spending began. Leading up to the Iowa Straw Poll in August, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul together spent $1.8 million on advertising in Iowa. By Jan. 3 there had been $16.5 million spent on advertising in the state. 

Subscribe for Industry News Plus the Latest in Campaign Strategy & Tactics

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

One week later, as voters headed to the polls for the first primary, advertisers poured $5.4 million into New Hampshire. After the New Hampshire primary, a flood of new advertisers began to crop up in South Carolina. After the dust settled, $12.4 million had been dropped on the first Southern primary.   

In the week leading up to Florida, Team Romney and Team Gingrich continued to buy time and duke it out over the airwaves there. They were the only camps to do so — both Santorum and Paul (and their supporters) stayed out the expensive state. Florida received $21.2 million dollars from a handful of advertisers. 

Other states are now lining up for their own disbursements from the candidates.  

Sarah Stone is a research analyst with Smart Media Group. She specializes in tracking campaign spending for SMG’s clients. When she’s not analyzing the competition’s political spending, she assists with building media plans and functions as the firm’s resident cartographer. 

A version of this post was also published on Smart Media Group’s blog, Smart Blog.

Share:
FacebookTweetLinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

By
Sarah Stone
02/25/2012 12:00 AM EST
FacebookTweetLinkedIn

C&E Creative Summit 2023 Countdown:

Get Tickets

Most Read

  • Digital Organizing

    How Digital Can Help Thread the Needle in Virginia

  • Sponsored

    Combine Digital Advertising With Direct Mail, The SMART Way

  • Sponsored

    Political Comms Is The Premium Peer-To-Peer Texting Platform

Subscribe for Industry News Plus the Latest in Campaign Strategy & Tactics

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Become a member and get access to exclusive content.

Join Today

Footer

Upcoming Events

  • September 21

    Campaigns & Elections Creative Summit

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

For the latest in campaign strategy & tactics plus industry news and analysis, subscribe for free today.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow us

Follow Campaign and Elections for more daily content.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Political World Communications, LLC

Advertisement

Subscribe for Industry News Plus the Latest in Campaign Strategy & Tactics

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.