Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee are outspending John McCain by vast amounts across the nation. In Indiana, a state largely ignored by both parties in 2004 due to the assumption it would go to the Republicans, Obama is outspending McCain by a margin of 20 to 1. Obama can afford to do things like this because of his massive fundraising efforts. While McCain chose to accept public financing, limiting his campaign spending to $84 million dollars from September up until election day, Obama rejected public money and is continuing to set fund raising records. Evan Tracey, COO of Campaign Media Analysis Group, predicts that Obama might spend that amount on television advertising alone.
In North Carolina, a traditionally Republican state, Obama has spent $5 million dollars while McCain has spent only $790,000. This demonstrates not only how tightly this election is being contested but also how deep Obama’s pockets are since he is willing to pour so much money into what is traditionally a Republican haven. Additionally, while McCain has to pick and choose where to allocate his funds, Obama seems to have the wealth to spread his message at will. “Every day and every dollar that McCain and the RNC spend in Indiana is a day and a dollar they can’t spend in Ohio and Pennsylvania,” says Evan Tracey. This makes free airtime such as tonight’s debate all the more important to the McCain campaign.
Source: NPR
Tags: Advertising, Assignments, Fundraising, McCain, Obama, Politics
October 18, 2008 at 11:14 pm
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