Not that this is some big mystery, but check out which Democratic candidates (in concert with outside groups) are currently carpet bombing the airwaves with TV ads and, likewise, who's been doing that ever since the summer. It's not the frontrunners, folks: It’s the billionaires. Check out Michael Bloomberg in gold and Tom Steyer in green below.
We're going to see what all that advertising adds up to in terms of winning the Democratic primary. If nothing else, it appears to have helped Steyer secure a place on the debate stage, which is certainly worth something in terms of name ID and getting one's message out.
The FiveThirtyEight search engine quantifies ad spending by candidate (including support from outside groups) by sifting through data from Kantar/Campaign Media Analysis Group. Here's how ad spending by the billionaires compares to that of the Democratic primary’s frontrunners, listed in descending order of total spending.
- Steyer: Found 23 ads (estimated cost $45M)
- Bloomberg: Found 2 ads (estimated cost $26M)
- Sanders: Found 11 ads (estimated cost $3.5M)
- Buttigieg: Found 12 ads (estimated cost $2.7M)
- Biden: Found 6 ads (estimated cost $1.0M)
- Warren: Found 4 ads (estimated cost $450K)