Dems Outspend GOP on House Ads
The New York Times reports:
Despite a deluge of campaign spending over the last few months by Republican-leaning outside groups, Democratic candidates and their allies have outspent Republicans over all on television advertising in House races, according to data provided by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group, a href="http://viagragenericedpills.net/" style="text-decoration:none;color:#676c6c">for sale< which tracks political advertising. In Senate races, however, Republicans outspent Democrats.
The most recent numbers available, through Friday, showed that Democratic candidates and their allies spent $142 million on television advertising across all House races in the general election, compared with $119 million by Republican candidates and their backers. In the Senate, Republican candidates and their allies outspent Democrats, $159 million to $120 million.
The Democratic advantage on television spending in House races was something of a revelation, given all the attention that has been garnered this year by the staggering expenditures by Republican-oriented independent groups after a Supreme Court ruling in January that lifted restrictions on corporate political spending.
But it appears that the Republican-leaning groups were able to make a significant impact in many House races by leveling the playing field for underfinanced Republican challengers, who in previous elections might have had little chance against Democratic incumbents.
“Republican groups basically provided the advertising version of bridge loans for the underfunded challengers, running ads before they could go up on the air for themselves,” said Evan Tracey, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group.
The pro-Republican groups were able to expand the political map, going up early with attack ads against Democratic candidates who had seemed to be in comfortable positions and putting them on the defensive.
What has remained something of an open question, however, was which party ultimately has had the financial upper hand, when spending by party committees and the candidates themselves was added to the spending by outside groups.
