November 2, 2016

Just how much are Clinton and Trump spending on TV ads in NM?

Yesterday came the news that both Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton would be spending money on TV ads to air in New Mexico.

Neither had aired ads during the general election in New Mexico, though Clinton did air ads in New Mexico.

Trump campaigned in New Mexico this weekend, and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, is campaigning in New Mexico today for the third time in the past few months.

Today, via the FCC, we see how much the two are spending on TV ads leading up to Election Day.

All links below are to PDF files from the FCC website.

KASA:

Clinton campaign: 139 spots, $15,800

Trump campaign: 72 spots, $35,075

KOAT:

Clinton campaign: 188 spots, $57,365

Trump campaign: 132 spots, $58,030

KOB:

Clinton campaign: 168 spots, $51,360

Trump campaign: 98 spots, $52,645

KRQE:

Clinton campaign: 165 spots, $41,370

Trump campaign: 123 spots, $48,160

As of now, the Trump campaign is spending $193,910 on TV in New Mexico on the four major broadcast stations, while Clinton is spending $165,895.

One reason Trump’s spending so much more? He’s going after the big sports audiences. His campaign will air 4 ads during Game 7 of the World Series tonight and 8 ads during Fox’s early NFL game. The spots for the NFL game alone cost $2,500 each.

Clinton is airing one ad during the Fox NFL game (Fox only has one game, Dallas at Cleveland, this week) and one during the Fox pregame show.

Trump is spending another $9,600 on eight spots on NFL games on KRQE. Clinton’s ad buy does not include any ads on the games airing on KRQE.

The amounts include not just the cost of airing the ads, but also the agency commission.

In addition to these costs, the Clinton campaign is reportedly airing radio ads aimed at those living on the Navajo Nation. The radio ads feature Navajo Nation president Russell Begaye, who recently endorsed Clinton.

Update: Added information on ads airing during sporting events and Clinton’s KOB ad buy.

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