Statewide candidates’ spending on TV ads surges

Candidates in statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state reported last-minute spikes in spending as their TV ads began airing in the final weeks of the campaign.

The general election is Tuesday, though early voting is underway.

Tuesday was the deadline for candidates seeking state offices to submit their final pre-election financial reports to the secretary of state’s office. The fundraising and spending totals cover the Oct. 1-27 period.

Leading the way in the TV ad blitz was Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who reported spending $1,293,222 on ads for his re-election campaign.

Hutchinson’s Democratic opponent, Jared Henderson, reported spending $91,672.

At the start of his campaign in February, Hutchinson stated his goal was to raise a total of $5 million. At the time of the report, the governor remained about $40,000 short. His campaign manager, Robert Moery, nonetheless expressed optimism at the fundraising haul.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the amount of support that has been shown to the governor over the course of this month and the entire election cycle as a

whole,” Moery said. “Arkansans from every corner of the state can relate to the governor’s vision for the future and are excited about another four years of his leadership.”

In a statement released by his campaign, Henderson also had good things to say about his final campaign-finance report.

“We are headed towards the finish line with our strongest month yet thanks to our supporters who continue to sign onto this campaign in the fight for our teachers, health care, rural hospitals, and the future of this state,” Henderson said.

Other big spenders on network and cable ads were two Republicans running for re-election, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin ($443,778) and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge ($280,400). Their opponents did not report purchasing any TV time.

One Democrat, secretary of state candidate Susan Inman, reported outspending her Republican opponent, John Thurston, with a $120,000 ad buy.

Thurston, who is the current

state land commissioner, did not report purchasing any TV ads in October, though he did spend $94,500 on such advertising in the final days of September.

With the exception of Hutchinson, however, no candidate spent as much as the Republican State Leadership Committee in the final days before the election.

The Washington, D.C.based group reported spending $889,995 on television ads in the final days leading up to the election, part of the $1.9 million it has spent throughout the state this election cycle. Much the group’s ads have been targeted at the nonpartisan Arkansas Supreme Court race, where the group has favored Department of Human Services attorney David Sterling over the incumbent, Justice Courtney Goodson.

Sterling has not reported purchasing any of his own TV ads and he’s denied any involvement with ads bought by out-of-state groups. Goodson reported spending $50,000 on TV ads in October. Goodson has a lawsuit pending in federal court seeking to stop the Republican State Leadership Committee from airing its attack ads against her. Goodson says the ads are defamatory, a

claim the group denies.

Campaigns for statewide races reported the following financials in their final pre-election reports:

GOVERNOR

Hutchinson: Raised $318,542, spent $1,440,499 and had $1,134,730 left over.

Henderson: Raised $121,426, spent $136,480 and had $108,749 left over.

Libertarian Mark West: Raised $260, spent $1,187 and had $1,456 left over.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Rutledge: Raised $46,947, spent $363,728 and had $177,255 left over. Democrat Mike Lee: Raised $57,206, spent $55,281 and had $28,407 left over. Libertarian Kerry Hicks: No reported finances.

SECRETARY OF STATE

Thurston: Raised $21,600, spent $2,669 and had $39,070 left over.

Inman: Raised $23,400, spent $126,124 and had $11,547 left over. Libertarian Christopher Olson: No reported finances.

SUPREME COURT

Goodson: Raised $22,625, spent $56,315 and had $5,572

left over.

Sterling: Raised $13,676, spent $52,176 and had $33,275 left over.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Griffin: Raised $115,582, spent $516,102 and had $134,623 left over. Democrat Anthony Bland: Raised $1,850, spent $1,271 and had $2,936 left over. Libertarian Frank Gilbert: No reported finances.

TREASURER

Republican Treasurer Dennis Milligan: Raised $2,350, spent $68 and had $20,257 available.

Libertarian Ashley Ewald: No reported finances.

AUDITOR

Republican Auditor Andrea Lea: Raised $2,700, spent $750 and had $5,494 available. Libertarian David Dinwiddie: No reported finances.

COMMISSIONER OF STATE LANDS

Republican Tommy Land: Raised $13,925, spent $32,018 and had $27,801 available.

Democrat Larry Williams: Raised $1,275, spent $3,607 and had $388 available.

Libertarian T.J. Campbell: No reported finances.