MyDD :: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Texas

Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Texas

by Jonathan Singer, Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:04:03 PM EST

For all of the talk of the Clinton campaign catching up to the Obama campaign's fundraising abilities -- and Hillary Clinton's take since February 5 has been remarkable -- it looks like it's not enough. According to reports out of both Ohio and Texas, the Obama campaign is significantly outspending the Clinton campaign on advertising ahead of the March 4 primaries.

Barack Obama is blanketing Ohio with campaign ads in a huge media buy that appears to double that of Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

Obama appears set to vastly outspend Clinton in Texas, as in Ohio.

Word from the world of media buying says Obama has $1.25 million behind his ads there, to $770,000 for Clinton.

These numbers -- along with reports of the $10 million plus pro-Clinton/anti-Obama 527 already running ads -- belie the notion that the Clinton campaign is keeping pace with the Obama campaign in terms of fundraising. If it were, it would be matching the Obama campaign dollar-for-dollar, which it is not. And with the Obama campaign apparently on track to raise $35 million in February after having taken in $36 million last month, it could be increasingly difficult for the Clinton campaign to even keep up this level of spending relative to the Obama campaign, making the path to 2,025 delegates that much more arduous.

Update [2008-2-20 16:23:50 by Jonathan Singer]: Obama's fundraising prowess is important for another reason as well:

Mr. Obama has done just a few traditional fund-raising events in January and none in February, in contrast to the Clinton campaign, which has been keeping up a steady diet of fund-raisers with either Mrs. Clinton or her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Being able to campaign rather than just raise money really frees up a candidate to connect with voters. There's a reason why Obama was campaigning and Clinton was raising money this morning, and it's not because she likes the rubber chicken dinner circuit...

Tags: Ohio Primary, Democratic Primaries, Ohio, Texas Primary, Texas, Advertising (all tags)

Permalink :: 52 Comments :: Post a Comment

When does Hillary drop out? (none / 0)

Anybody want to place odds on Hillary not making it to Texas? It's hard to imagine that her big-dollar supporters don't see the writing on the wall.

by PhilFR on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:08:47 PM EST

Re: When does Hillary drop out? (none / 0)

I suspect she'll make it to March 4th. What happens afterward depends on the results of those races, but it is looking increasingly unlikely that she will be the nominee.

by Meng Bomin on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:10:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When does Hillary drop out? (2.00 / 1)

Her big dollar investors are in so deep at this point, they're going to pull out all the 527 stops.

We've seen how well attack ads have worked for HRC so far. Texans like a winner.

M Hussein Garvey

by MGarvey on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:11:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When does Hillary drop out? (none / 0)

She'll make it to 3/4. She's got a second autonomous smear machine working for her now, too. With TWO vicious smear machines cranking out the character assassination at the same time, how can she lose?

NJ Hussein Independent

by NJIndependent on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:44:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: When does Hillary drop out? (none / 0)

She'll make it to MArch 4, but after that is questionable.

Looking at the bottom line, Obama is on track to raise over $100,000,000 in the first quarter alone.

That breaks the record he set for a single quarter by $70,000,000.

Obama is the people powered candidate. He's crashing the gate.

Bill Foster would agree, Barack Obama has coat tails.

by Walt Starr on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:40:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

If Hillary had the same funding, she would be doing the exact same thing.

M Hussein Garvey

by MGarvey on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:09:49 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

Of course she would be. This isn't an attack on Hillary it is a statement about the state of the campaign.

The 527 attacks that are coming out aren't going to stop Obama from winning the nomination either- but the damage they do will follow him to November...I don't blame Hillary but whoever decided this was a good idea decided her winning was more important than the good of the party at this point.

Oh Mammy Dear, we're all mad over here livin' in America

by JDF on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:55:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Hillary's fundraising (none / 0)

The first $5,000,000 she collected this February probably went first to pay off the personal loan. Not to mention that her campaign is being run in such an amateurish way that I wouldn't be surprised if they are still paying $500,000 for parking, etc.

by highgrade on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:10:54 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (2.00 / 3)

$35 million in February doesn't count, because it's a leap year; there was a whole extra day in there, and Hillary's people would have contributed to her on the 29th, but they were all at work and couldn't make it.

John McCain, like George Bush, doesn't care about sick children

by Ms Bluezone on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:11:24 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

I don't think the OP was slamming Obama for his spending. He's just reporting.

by EMTP democrat on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:12:20 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

To bad that money can't be spent against McCain.

-evan

by evan108108 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:20:55 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

some probably will. He'll probably ramp down after Hillary drops out on March 6th and start spending on building infrastructure for the general election

by mcdave on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:50:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

With Democrats willing to donate so much this year, we should easily be able to out-raise and outspend McCain.

by rfahey22 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:22:31 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (1.00 / 1)

But the people funding Obama are just tricky crossover Republicans trying to get a weaker GE opponent for McCain. They will disappear after the primary and take their money with them.

NJ Hussein Independent

by NJIndependent on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:46:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

So true. Or the high price of gasoline will force them to save more of their income for their limousines.

by rfahey22 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:48:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

Not to mention Birkenstocks and lattes.

unapologetic Obama supporter

by dantes on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:00:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (2.00 / 1)

My limo only gets 10 MPG because of the extra weight of the espresso machine in the minibar. Its killing my ability to donate another $1,000 to Obama.

I better get another trust fund soon!

M Hussein Garvey

by MGarvey on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:09:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

Dude, my entire family was hanging out with Herb Kohl on his private jet before it touched down briefly so that they could vote for Obama. They immediately took off again to hang out with the Milwaukee Bucks at the after-party.

by rfahey22 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:55:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

I really hope you don't believe something this absurd...and if you do believe it I hope you look good in tinfoil.

Oh Mammy Dear, we're all mad over here livin' in America

by JDF on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:57:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (2.00 / 1)

I thought Hillary had been raising $1M a day since 2/5? Where is all the money going?

by poserM on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:32:25 PM EST

Direct mail? (none / 0)

What does "media buy" include. There are many ways to reach voters.

Or is this the media markets trying to bid up their services by implying Clinton isn't giving them enough love? After all a 1.5:1 ad ratio doesn't seem like an overwhelming advantage to me. So I see 90 Obama ads a week to 60 Clinton ads. It all saturates after awhile. I thought you needed to be 3:1 or 4:1 to get advantage just due to exposure.

by ineedalife on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:44:46 PM EST

Re: Direct mail? (none / 0)

you're right - they're probably both at saturation level.

But frankly - I doubt Hillary will be able to maintain that level for two weeks straight..

by mcdave on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:57:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (2.00 / 1)

Obama now has 900,000 donors... His new goal is 1,000,000 donors... or about 1 in every 100 voters. That is amazing. http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/h qblog

Bring Back MyDD - Just say No to Rec'ing Candidate Diaries.

by CardBoard on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:47:48 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

Make that 901,000. I donated today for the first time (although my husband had donated to him earlier). It felt goooood.

by Oregonian on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:34:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

You are a collective of 1,000 donors? Whoa, talk about having a split personality.

by rfahey22 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:45:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

Oh, crap. Math was never my strong suit. LOL!

by Oregonian on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 08:16:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

It's really amazing.

I mean - even Dean never sniffed 1 million donors.

That's pretty damn amazing - it's basically 1% of the November voters. Think about that for minute... 1% of American voters this fall donating to a single candidate.

I still miss the bats, though!

by zonk on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:39:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

The American Leadership Project will help her out in this regard.

by katrinareyes on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:50:35 PM EST

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

How droll!

by Zeitgeist9000 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:51:22 PM EST

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

Wow... you are so blind and absurd and in love with your candidate that you just insulted someone who donates to the candidate you support. You have truly turned a corner or something.

Get some help.

Oh Mammy Dear, we're all mad over here livin' in America

by JDF on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:07:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

Droll means quaintly amusing.

I'm gonna add another couple lines to my signature because it gets you and your ilk into such a convulsive state of apoplexy, the likes of which haven't been seen Michelle Obama entered adulthood and became dissatisfied with her country.

by Zeitgeist9000 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:13:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

So, you've been digging the last 8 years?

M Hussein Garvey

by MGarvey on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:32:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (1.00 / 2)

Michelle Obama is unpatriotic and sets a terrible example for the AA youth of America, but gets a pass because she misspoke or should be allowed to say such things because of her special circumstances (hmm), or because it was the heat of the moment... Whatever.

by India on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:42:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (2.00 / 1)

Well, I won't say she sets a terrible example. I do think that her brand of stump speaking, which comes across almost as berating, deserves a much-needed tune-up. Her gaffe was an example of that. Perhaps yes she gets too wrapped up in the heat of the moment and loses sight of the big picture....

by Zeitgeist9000 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:51:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (2.00 / 1)

Wow... thank you for this (and I mean this one sincerely.) This is an incredibly intelligent and objective look at what happened... you get a 2!

Oh Mammy Dear, we're all mad over here livin' in America

by JDF on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:54:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

::SECOND GASP:: (Precedes first ::GASP:: only because of a quirk in the blogging space-time continuum.)

by Zeitgeist9000 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:56:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

Her statement was unpatriotic- and without getting into the argument of whether it was fair or warranted I will say this: it is a damn stupid thing for someone who wants their spouse to be president to be walking around saying.

It change my mind in Obama or whether or not she can become a good first lady but I really hope they sit her down and get her to stop spouting off nonsense soon- otherwise McCain and company are going to have a field day with her.

Oh Mammy Dear, we're all mad over here livin' in America

by JDF on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:52:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

::GASP::

by Zeitgeist9000 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:55:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

Could it cost Obama the nomination or the Presidency?

I mean, this has to be getting a lot of mileage in Ohio and Texas right now, thanks to right-wing radio which the swing state Dems in Ohio probably listen to.

by Zeitgeist9000 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:59:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

God forbid, the woman's being uppity. Better put her in her place.

by rfahey22 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 07:19:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

I know what droll means thank you, but its connotation is generally considered negative.

Oh Mammy Dear, we're all mad over here livin' in America

by JDF on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:51:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hundreds of Millions... (none / 0)

You're welcome!

by Zeitgeist9000 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:52:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

This is what happens when you do a better job of managing your campaign expenditures and RAISE BUCKETS OF MONEY!

by sndeak on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:51:32 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

Didn't HRC put about 5-10 mil in her General Election fund. Arrogance.

by sndeak on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 04:52:37 PM EST

She had to (none / 0)

With all her big-money donors, a good portion exceeded the per person limit for primary expenditures.

by corph on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:39:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

She loses two more states, and heads straight to Manhattan? Maybe she plans to help count missing Obama votes in between bites of rubber chicken?

by PD1769 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:36:08 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

Barack Obama = Howard Dean 2.0

Only one canddiate is truly crashing the gate this year, Barack Obama.

Bill Foster would agree, Barack Obama has coat tails.

by Walt Starr on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:37:50 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

I'm by no means a high dollar donor -- but I gave about 5 times as much to Dean in 2003/4 as I've given to Obama this cycle.

Hell - I didn't even make my first donation until January.... I kinda felt burned by Dean (well -- really, more so by Trippi and McMahon. I love Trippi, but man oh man does that guy burn through money). At least I still have my Perfect Stormer orange hat!

by zonk on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:42:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

Just sent in $100 big ones.

She's asking for funding now. We must not let her down. She's losing because we're not helping and supporting her. She couldn't make Wisconsin and other states and couldn't do the ad buys because we're not matching Obamamaniacs.

Let's see what she can accomplish with $100M war chest, so there's no regrets later.

Rise Hillary Rise!

by India on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 05:38:13 PM EST

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton (none / 0)

To be fair, that is a lot to ask of the five of you.

by EMTP democrat on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:14:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Obama Greatly Outspending Clinton in Ohio, Tex (none / 0)

Oh my god. The democratic party just became the republicans.

Are you serious? This is a campaign issue?

by Marvin42 on Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 06:28:32 PM EST

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