NEW YORK — President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney and their allies have spent a jaw-dropping $87 million on TV ads in just a handful of presidential battleground states, an early and unprecedented explosion of spending.
The avalanche of ad dollars is larger in size and scope at this point that in any previous campaign, fueled by the closeness of the race, a proliferation of deep-pocketed independent groups and an eagerness on both sides to frame the debate before summer, when voters pay little attention.
“The presidential race has been surprising to us — the amount of it and the early entry,” said Mike Lake, sales director for KCRG-TV, the largest station in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “But this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Most commercials that the campaigns and super PACs are running are airing in only nine states: Florida, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada and New Hampshire. Combined, these states offer 120 electoral votes of the 270 needed to win the White House.
