Biden spent $ 10 million on TV ads in Pa. last month
Trump halted TV advertising in state
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Joe Biden’s campaign spent $ 10 million on television advertising in Pennsylvania last month, helping the Democratic nominee maintain his lead in the polls as President Donald Trump halted his TV spending in the state entirely.
The Biden campaign spent another $ 5 million through Labor Day, while Mr. Trump remained off the Pennsylvania airwaves during the first week of September, according to the ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics. In all, Mr. Biden outspent Trump $ 15 million to zero over the course of about five weeks.
The spending advantage is notable given that Mr. Trump won Pennsylvania by less than one percentage point in 2016 and faces a relatively narrow path to re- election. It’s also a sign that the Trump campaign has burned through much of the huge cash advantage it built during the Democratic primary contest.
Nationwide, the Trump campaign spent just $ 4.8 million on TV during the last two weeks of August, a fraction of Mr. Biden’s $ 35.9 million in spending, The New York Times reported.
In Pennsylvania, the Trump campaign has reserved about $ 370,000 in airtime this week and a total of $ 5.6 million worth of TV advertising for the month of September, according to Advertising Analytics. That’s about half of the Biden campaign’s $ 11.8 million in ad reservations. The reservations for future airtime don’t necessarily have to be booked and paid for by the campaigns.
Surveys show Mr. Biden with a four- point lead over Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania, according to the Real Clear Politics average of the most recent polls, and both parties expect a tight outcome in the state.
The Trump campaign paused its advertising in Pennsylvania and other states at the end of July, when the president announced a shakeup of his campaign leadership. Under campaign manager Bill Stepien, the campaign targeted battleground states that begin voting early, such as North Carolina and Florida.
Mr. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and other campaign surrogates have made multiple trips to Pennsylvania over the past few weeks, ensuring local media coverage. Mr. Pence is scheduled to swing through Western Pennsylvania on Wednesday, visiting Freedom in Beaver County and Export in Westmoreland County. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden plan to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Friday in Stonycreek, Somerset County, where a hijacked plane crashed.
Mr. Trump is rarely far from the center of the news cycle, perhaps mitigating the importance of paid advertising. He was outspent significantly by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and still prevailed.
Mr. Trump did get some air cover last month from GOP outside groups, which spent about $ 11 million on commercials attacking Mr. Biden. Pro- Biden groups spent about $ 6 million.
Neither campaign commented Tuesday.
Mr. Biden’s campaign ads have highlighted his plans to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, rebuild the economy, and provide affordable health care. He’s also accused Mr. Trump of fomenting violence and jeopardizing Social Security through a proposed payroll tax cut.
Commercials aired by GOP groups have tried to tie Mr. Biden to calls by some left- wing activists to “defund the police,” and portrayed the former vice president as hostile to fracking.