Presidential Elections and Advertisement Spending

The President, Barack Obama, along with the presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, and the number of outside groups that are supporting one or the other side of the campaign have been spending millions of dollars on television advertisements ever since the election has started. The amount that has currently been spent has reached about $881 million for television advertising alone. There are just about two weeks left of the election and it is believed that by the time Election Day approaches, $1 billion will have been spent. During this week alone, both sides will be spending more than $62 million. Romney, along with his allies, has been outspending Obama and the Democratic allies that are supporting Obama for his re-election. Even so, both are spending a great deal of money on these advertisements.

The spending levels in different areas are typically the same. The two candidates are spending a total of $14.3 million in the state of Florida, $13.9 million in the state of Ohio, and around $9.3 million in the state of Virginia. In each of the swing states, Republican advertisements have increased and are currently outspending Obama. However, Obama’s campaign is actually spending more money than Romney’s campaign. During this week alone, Obama’s campaign is expected to spend a total of $21.3 million while Romney is expected to dish out a total of $15.4 million.

Obama and his campaign have also already purchased advertising in several of the swing states much sooner than his opponents. During the week of October 23^rd through October 29^th, the Obama campaign has booked about $15.3 million worth of advertisements. Over the span of the past two weeks, the Republican side has spent about $30 million in advertisements. Many Republicans are hoping that Romney’s performance during the presidential debate will help to increase votes while increasing the number of states in which he can compete. A pro-Romney PAC, Restore Our Future, has already started to advertise in the Michigan area. In the meantime, the Democrats feel confident in the current poll numbers in this state and have not spent too much money during the election for this state at all.

At the same time, the polls are showing that one of the swing states, Wisconsin, is beginning to get tighter. A recent study, which was conducted by the Marquette University, showed that Obama and Romney are currently tied. A separate poll, which was conducted by Marist College, shows that Obama is ahead but only by a small percentage. This presidential election is expected to be a close one.