Donald Trump’s campaign has cut its advertising budget in Florida, relying on the Republican National Committee to carry the message there as the president’s re-election effort moves resources to the northern industrial states that led to victory in 2016.
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Since Labor Day, Trump has cut $ 24 million from his national advertising budget, while former Vice President Joe Biden has added $ 197 million. Biden has spent more than Trump three-to-one during that time nationally, according to data compiled from ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics.
The president’s campaign still has $ 350,275 budgeted to spend on ads in Florida through Election Day, but it has canceled $ 5.5 million in the last two weeks of the campaign, the data showed.
The RNC is picking up some of that slack, buying $ 4 million worth of ads starting last week. It is now running an ad in Florida attacking Biden on Medicare, falsely claiming that Biden’s health care plan would eliminate private health insurance.
By comparison, Biden has booked $ 16.7 million worth of ads in Florida during the last 15 days of the campaign, compared to $ 4.3 million for Trump and the RNC, according to Advertising Analytics.
The Trump campaign held a call with reporters Tuesday to discuss Biden’s positions on fracking and the situation in Pennsylvania. Communications director Tim Murtaugh said the campaign’s organizing strength in Florida would drive the state to Trump’s column on election night as Republicans draw more in-person voters to the polls.
“We are spending more in Florida and we are earning a lot in Florida,” Trump said in a tweet Tuesday night after a campaign rally in Nebraska.
‘Ground game’
“You have to have a ground game. Joe Biden doesn’t have one. The president does it, ”Murtaugh said. “That’s why he saw the president close the gap in Florida.”
Campaigns often lock in ad time early in the campaign, booking the best time slots with the lowest rates. They often move that time to other states, stations, or time slots as they adjust their strategies.
The Trump campaign said the publicly available data does not represent all of its television spending, which includes local cable systems not included in the Advertising Analytics data. The campaign said it already has $ 61 million in TV ads reserved during the election.
Kaelan Dorr, Trump’s campaign marketing director, said he’s spending six figures on Spanish-language ads, six figures on cable and six figures on radio in Florida.
“Our television budget in the state has remained constant week after week. We have invested seven figures in the state this week alone. We have risen 4 points in the polls, we have risen steadily and we look forward to celebrating with people in November, ”said Dorr.
However, the RNC is now paying for those ads.
Biden and Trump are effectively tied for the RealClearPolitics poll average for the state.
About 312,000 more registered Republicans have voted in person in Florida than registered Democrats since early voting began a week ago. But Democrats lead by more than 615,000 votes in the vote-by-mail, according to the US Elections Project, giving Democrats an overall advantage of 41.8% to 37.1%.
“Florida will go the way of the president,” Murtaugh said.
The Trump campaign itself is now placing most of its advertising budget in just four battleground states: Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania, with advertising purchases of more than $ 1 million in each state. Polls show he’s behind in all of those states except Ohio, where he and Biden are effectively tied.
Biden’s campaign has added $ 41 million to its advertising budget down the stretch, pouring more money into every battlefield state except Texas. As of Election Day, the campaign has budgeted $ 8.3 million in Florida, $ 7.1 million in Pennsylvania, $ 5.3 million in Michigan, and $ 4.9 million in North Carolina.
In the past week, Biden will spend more than Trump in every battlefield state except Minnesota and Ohio, where Biden still maintains an overall advantage.
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