Trump plans ads, visit
Donald Trump will visit Loveland on Monday just as his campaign prepares a significant advertising blitz in the state as polls show a neck-and-neck race.
The Republican’s campaign is expected to purchase $2.5 million in television commercials in Colorado through Election Day, according to political media trackers. So far, the campaign has purchased more than $750,000 in TV time, according to a tally of new Federal Communications Commission records made public this week.
Trump’s rally next week will only amplify his exposure. The event is scheduled to take place at the Budweiser Events Center, 5290 Arena Circle. Doors open at 3 p.m., and Trump will speak at 6 p.m. Tickets are available to the public at the campaign website.
The visit and investment in Colorado signal the Trump campaign’s optimism about its chances to make the state a battleground after it appeared to slip from the radar. The most recent polls put the race between Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton at a dead heat just weeks before ballots hit mailboxes, despite her robust lead for months.
The ad spending is part of a $100 million purchase nationwide for TV airtime through Nov. 7 with another $40 million committed to digital ads, according to the campaign. Colorado is one of 13 states where the Trump campaign plans to air its commercials in the closing days.
It’s not clear what message Trump will use to target Colorado voters. The campaign purchased time on Denver TV stations during a variety of popular programs, including the Major League Baseball playoffs and Denver Broncos games.
Patrick Davis, a senior Trump adviser in Colorado, declined to comment about the campaign’s ad spending.
For now, Trump will get the local stage all to himself. Clinton ended her Colora-
do advertising at the end of July, but the campaign is still running spots nationwide on cable channels.
Priorities USA, a pro- Clinton super PAC, also pulled the bulk of its Colorado advertising, but it continues to purchase time on Spanish-language television. The organization announced Wednesday that it will spend at least $100,000 to air ads on Univision channels in Denver and Colorado SpringsPueblo markets. The 30second spots highlight Trump’s plan to use a “deportation force” to remove people living in the country illegally.
The new Trump ad buy will seek to cut into the Clinton campaign’s spending advantage in the state after its early rounds of commercials. Trump’s team did not start advertising in Colorado until late August.
Clinton aired more than 3,000 ads in Colorado since June 12, compared with roughly half that amount for Trump, according to the Center for Public Integrity, which is tracking ad spending.