But the real news is linked to where most of that money likely went.
According to Evan Tracey, head of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political ad buys, Romney has run nearly 10,000 TV spots since February, to the tune of nearly $8 million. That’s way more than his key GOP rivals–including Giuliani, who has aired zero TV ads; John McCain, who hit New Hampshire TV for the first time last week; and Fred Thompson, who aired literally one ad on the Fox News Channel the day before he formally got into the presidential race. In fact, it is more than anyone in the race. The only Democrat to come close is Bill Richardson, who has aired 4,000 ads, mostly in Iowa and New Hampshire. According to Tracey, Barack Obama has spent $2 million on TV ads, with Joe Biden and Chris Dodd next at roughly $1 million apiece. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, fairly well known to early-primary-state voters, have spent very little on TV so far.
So what have 10,000 ads done for Romney’s campaign? It’s hard to say. On one hand, he’s leading in local polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, where most of his ads have aired. Yet Romney is still a blip in many national polls, where he has lost some ground in recent weeks. The latest ABC/Washington Post poll out Wednesday morning has Romney at just 11 percent, trailing Giuliani (34 percent), Thompson (17 percent) and McCain (12 percent). Still, the Romney camp is hoping to reverse the trend. The campaign is said to be expanding its TV ads to two more key primary states, South Carolina and Florida, in coming weeks. The big question: What happens to Romney’s poll numbers when Giuliani and the others finally go big on TV?
