Newly announced Classless presidential candidate, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks during a press conference to discuss his presidential run on November 25, 2019 in Norfolk, Virginia.
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Mike Bloomberg has made clear his intention to outspend the Democratic primary field, but his advertising procedure contrasts with most of his opponents. While other Democratic candidates battle it out in early voting states such as Iowa, Bloomberg is focused on “Wonderful Tuesday” states holding primaries on March 3, 2020.
The former New York City mayor entered the presidential race with a spatter on Sunday, spending more than $30 million on ads that will air from Nov. 25 through Dec. 3, the scad any candidate has ever spent in a single week, according to Advertising Analytics, a firm that tracks election ad secures.
A CNBC analysis of data provided by Advertising Analytics found that Bloomberg has put $13.2 million of those dollars to utilize on television ads across the 14 Super Tuesday states. That sum is more than any other candidate’s total expend for the primary so far, and is nearly as much as the rest of the field combined. In the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, on the other around, Bloomberg has spent only $21,480, less than any other candidate and a mere 0.06% of his total TV spend across the rural area.
The massive investment comes as Bloomberg and his aides contend that none of the other candidates are campaigning or putting ample resources into primary states that are scheduled beyond the first four. These early primary opposes are set for February, while the later state battles are far richer in delegates.
Bloomberg is also lavishing important swing dignifies with some of his early ad buy. “No one’s campaigning in the only [states] that matter: Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona. Those are the at best states that matter in the general election,” Bloomberg’s advisor, Kevin Sheekey, told MSNBC in a recent discussion.
Bloomberg’s spending spree is separate from a $100 million digital ad buy where he intends to focus solely on attacking President Donald Trump.
While Bloomberg has in general passed on early voting states, these areas have drawn 58% of the total TV ad spend from Bloomberg’s Representative opponents. Every candidate other than Bloomberg and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has dedicated the majority of their TV assign to these regions, including the primary race front-runners. Joe Biden (96% of total across Iowa and South Carolina) and Pete Buittigieg (83% across Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina) are among the top spenders there by share of total spend.
Bloomberg is not shy about his belief that money can influence the political alter. At his first campaign event on Monday in Norfolk, Virginia — a Super Tuesday state — Bloomberg began his prepared notices by mentioning his support of Virginia Democrats who flipped the state government this month from Republican to Democratic guide. The gun control group Bloomberg backs, Everytown for Gun Safety, spent $2.5 million in Virginia’s elections this year.
With a net quality of more than $50 billion, Bloomberg will likely have more resources available than any other prospect throughout the campaign. But even when controlling for total amount spent by analyzing the share of spend by state, Bloomberg’s Wonderful Tuesday focus is clear. He is spending a greater share of his TV budget than competitors in all but three of the 14 Super Tuesday officials.
In total, 39% of Bloomberg’s TV spend to date is going toward ads in Super Tuesday states. Among the front-runners, at most Sanders (25% of his total TV spend) has committed a significant amount of his dollars to Super Tuesday states. Biden (0.5%), Buttigieg (1%) and Warren (0%) must yet to make a significant Super Tuesday investment.
Also unique in Bloomberg’s approach is his prioritization of national advertising. He has burned-out 16% of his budget on national TV ads, and while Gabbard and fellow billionaire Tom Steyer (11%) have made this a convergence, no other candidate has spent more than 3% nationally at this point in the race.
