Caruso, Caruso, Caruso: Get set for the ad tsunami

Mayoral candidate reserves $17 million in TV time for the race’s remaining weeks.

After a dormant summer on the airwaves, Rick Caruso’s mayoral campaign on Thursday reserved $17 million worth of broadcast TV ad time spread over the remaining weeks of the race — a commitment that does not include cable or digital advertising, meaning the spending total will likely grow.

It’s a colossal sum — likely the largest single-day ad reservation ever placed in a local L.A. race — and a level of spending that could help Caruso narrow the doubledigit gap in the Nov. 8 general election.

The real estate developer is slated to spend about $2.3 million a week on broadcast advertising through the general election, according to media tracking firm AdImpact. That weekly figure is roughly three times as much as Rep. Karen Bass spent on all TV advertising ahead of the primary.

After finishing seven points behind Bass in the June primary, Caruso lost ground during the summer, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by The Times. The August poll showed Bass with a 12point lead over Caruso.

Caruso spent more than $22 million on broadcast and cable advertising ahead of the spring primary — part of the more than $40 million he spent overall — but remained off TV through the summer and into September, sparking speculation that he might rein in spending for the fall.

But the candidate does not appear to be tightening his belt.

“This is what you need to do to cover up a record as an anti-choice Republican,” Bass spokesperson Sarah Leonard Sheahan said of Caruso’s ad buy. Caruso has been outspoken about his support for abortion rights on the campaign trail, but has donated to antiabortion politicians in the past.

“When you’re part of a culture of corruption that’s led to homelessness and crime conditions in Los Angeles, is it any wonder that Karen Bass is resorting to lies and mudslinging?” Caruso spokesperson Peter Ragone shot back.

Bass has not yet placed TV ad buys for the general election. With the latest set of campaign finance records not due until the end of the month, it’s difficult to gauge how much she raised during the summer. But without the ability to self-finance her campaign, it’s unlikely she will be able to counter more than a fraction of Caruso’s ad spending.