Governor’s race spending on TV ads to exceed $23M
More than $23 million is set to be spent on television advertisements in Tennessee’s upcoming governor’s race, according to an analytics company summary obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee.
The total includes ad buys made by the six top-tier candidates, as well as two political action committees. It also includes spots that have already aired on TV and ones that have yet to run.
The vast majority of the ad buys — more than $15 million — have been on broadcast stations.
The four top-tier Republicans in the race — U.S. Rep. Diane Black, Knoxville entrepreneur Randy Boyd, House Speaker Beth Harwell and Williamson County businessman Bill Lee — are far outpacing their Democratic counterparts in terms of ad buys.
Combined, the GOP candidates are set to spend more than $21 million between last fall and the Aug. 2 primary. That total could increase as the election nears and candidates make additional ad buys.
Leading the way in terms of ad spending in the GOP field is Boyd, who has spent about $9 million to air spots on TV.
Black has spent roughly $7 million on TV ads, while Lee has dished out more than $3 million for his ads.
Among the GOP candidates, Harwell has spent the least on TV ads, spending about $1 million. But Harwell’s candidacy has been bolstered by a more than $600,000 ad buy paid for by Tennesseans for Good State Government, a political action committee that favors Harwell.
Tennessee Jobs Now — a PAC that supports Boyd’s candidacy and has aired ads attacking Black — has spent about $500,000 on television spots.
Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, meanwhile, is set to spend $819,000 on ads touting his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. His opponent — House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley — is set to spend just under $12,000 on TV ads in the race.
Each of the candidates in the race has spent the most to air ads in the Nashville television market, the most populated area of the state.
But Black has decided to spend less money than Boyd to air ads in West Tennessee, specifically in the Memphis and Jackson television markets. Boyd has spent about $1.2 million to air ads in Memphis alone, while Black has spent roughly $500,000. Lee has spent almost $400,000 for ads on Bluff City TV stations.
Across the country, more than $132 million has been spent on TV ads related to governor’s races this year alone, according to a USA TODAY analysis.
The USA TODAY analysis, which relied on spending data compiled by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group, found more than 23,000 ads have aired on broadcast stations in Tennessee related to this year’s governor’s race.
The race to replace Gov. Bill Haslam is well on its way to becoming the most expensive governor’s race in state history.
In April, a USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee analysis of campaign disclosures found the candidates had collectively spent about $14 million.
More than $20 million was spent on the 2010 race.
If the six top-tier gubernatorial candidates stick with their TV ad buys and reservations, they will outpace the 2010 total on television ads alone.
Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.