Last Updated on December 27, 2019
Reports indicate that the two Democrat billionaires currently running for their party’s nomination have spent, together, nearly $200 million.
While neither Michael Bloomberg or Tom Steyer are polling at competitive levels, the candidates are rapidly sinking money into their presidential campaigns.
Bloomberg has spent $120 million since announcing his candidacy in November, and Steyer, who called for impeaching President Donald Trump years prior to the House Democrats-led impeachment push, has spent $80 million.
“We’ve never seen spending like this in a presidential race,” Jim McLaughlin told Politico.
McLaughlin is a Republican political strategist who consulted for Bloomberg’s mayoral campaigns.
“He has a limitless budget,” added McLaughlin.
While Bloomberg is focusing his massive digital and television ad buys on Super Tuesday states in a bid to secure a large number of delegates in one go, Steyer is focusing on early voting states, likely to position himself as a viable candidate once voting begins.
Advertising Analytics’ Nick Stapleton said, “We’re running out of ways to describe [the ad expenditures] at this point.”
“It’s pretty difficult to make a comparison,” Stapleton continued. “You’re looking at one-third of Obama’s 2012 total [ad] spend through the general [election] in one month.”
National File previously reported that Bloomberg spent a whopping $30 million on ads before his presidential campaign was officially announced, creating the largest single ad buy in American political history.
Bloomberg may be declaring his candidacy too late to appear on early Democrat primary ballots, but this is not stopping the billionaire from reaching deep into his pockets in an attempt to win over the Democratic base.
According to Advertising Analytics, Bloomberg is spending $31 million on one week of television ads that will start today, making history as “the most money of any candidate ever on a single week of political advertising.”
Bloomberg officially declared his candidacy on Sunday, November 24 with the launch of his campaign website.
It remains to be seen if the massive ad buys will help the candidates secure better polling positions, or whether the money spent will translate into votes earned.
In comparison, President Donald Trump spent roughly $531 million between announcing his campaign in June of 2015 to winning the election in November of 2016.
Meanwhile, failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton raised, and spent, nearly $1.2 billion.
