http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/27/clinton_outspent_in_texas_and_1.htmlBarack Obama is significantly out-spending Hillary Clinton on television advertising in Texas and Ohio, and his advertising edge has been compounded by a raft of commercials being aired by two large labor unions that are supporting him.
Since the two candidates began advertising in the two states about Feb. 12, Obama has spent a bit more than $7 million, while Clinton has spent about $4 million, according to Evan Tracey, the chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks network advertising. Obama was running far more adds over the past two weeks, but in recent days, the two candidates have been on a similar schedule.
"The difference here is, it appears that these two union efforts are becoming significant," Tracey said. The Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers now have spots in major Texas markets airing in English and Spanish, and are blanketing most of the major Ohio markets -- even going so far as buying time in the Charleston, West Virginia market to capture a small portion of Eastern Ohio. "I wouldn't go so far as calling that a luxury, but it's not the kind of thing you do on a limited budget," Tracey said.
Federal Election Commission reports filed today show that the UFCW made $190,000 in media buys in the last 48 hours.
The advertising imbalance has been all but acknowledged by the Clinton campaign. In an e-mail sent today that is signed by Bill Clinton, the campaign urged supporters to send donations online to help Sen. Clinton keep pace. "In just 24 hours, you closed the $1.3 million advertising gap with Obama this week," the former president writes. "In response, campaign has bought another $1.9 million worth of airtime. For Hillary to win on March 4, we must close this gap -- and we have to do it quickly. We cannot let this race be decided by Obama's spending advantage on the air."
Tracey said the damage may already be done. "Obama's had a very big and significant running head start in these states," he said. "The fact that he had a longer run up gave him the advantage of being able to mix in more spots, and touch a wider variety of issues."Interesting that he is advertising in Charleston... he must be worried about Southeast and East Ohio... polls show he is getting killed there.
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