After groups spent heavily on Wednesday (nearly $14 million!), they went back to the ATM and found that there was still plenty of cash to be spent on Thursday. Big labor unions, titans of the free-market and operatives solely supporting the POTUS were all out in force, further escalating the media arms race haunting the 2012 elections. Unless doctors discover that watching these ads is a risk to one’s health, no thoughts of mutually assured destruction will curtail this outside spending. The breadth and depth of disclosures on Thursday - by many groups heavily involved on Wednesday - is evidence that millions upon millions being spent every single day by a small few seeking to influence voting patterns of the many is the new normal in America.
CBMG’s quick hits for September 6th:
The Roundup: $7.36 million disclosed by 19 groups seeking to influence over 25 federal elections
The Big Spender: The powerful labour union, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees AFL-CIO, spent $3.1 million to support President Obama and oppose three Republican candidates for the Senate -Denny Rehberg (R-MT) Dean Heller (R-NV) and Tommy Thompson (R-WI). So far in this cycle AFSCME has disclosed $3.5 million in media costs supporting Democrat candidates and opposing Republicans.
Cashing In: Two companies, Adelstein Liston and Mundy Katowitz Media, received $1.6 million each for TV ads. These two media companies have made a bundle of dough from left-aligned groups throughout this election period.
House or Senate? The Senate. Over $3 million of Thursday’s cash targeted Senate races whilst House contests received just $645K.
The Hotspot: Nevada. The Silver State mined over $1.25 million in disclosures purchasing media-related products opposing Republican candidate for Senate, Dean Heller.
The High Striker: The Democrats. Dems disclosed nearly $6.2 million and the Reps mustered $1.2 million. For every dollar spent by the Republicans, the Democrats dropped just over $5.
For the detail, check the table. And if you like what you read, tell a friend or follow us on twitter. Send us an email with your questions or comments - we’d love to hear from you!
