PHILADELPHIA — Joe Biden’s campaign spent $10 million on television advertising in Pennsylvania last month, helping the Democratic nominee maintain his lead in the polls as President Donald Trump halted his TV spending in the state entirely.
The Biden campaign spent another $5 million through Labor Day, while Trump remained off the Pennsylvania airwaves during the first week of September, according to the ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics. In all, Biden outspent Trump $15 million to zero over the course of about five weeks.
The spending advantage is notable given that Trump won Pennsylvania by less than one percentage point in 2016 and faces a relatively narrow path to reelection. It’s also a sign that the Trump campaign has burned through much of the huge cash advantage it built during the Democratic primary contest.
Nationwide, the Trump campaign spent just $4.8 million on TV during the last two weeks of August, a fraction of Biden’s $35.9 million in spending, the New York Times reported.
In Pennsylvania, the Trump campaign has reserved about $370,000 in airtime this week and a total of $5.6 million worth of TV advertising for the month of September, according to Advertising Analytics. That’s about half of the Biden campaign’s $11.8 million in ad reservations. The reservations for future airtime don’t necessarily have to be booked and paid for by the campaigns.
Surveys show Biden with a four-point lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, according to the Real Clear Politics average of the most recent polls, and both parties expect a tight outcome in the state.
The Trump campaign paused its advertising in Pennsylvania and other states at the end of July, when the president announced a shakeup of his campaign leadership. Under campaign manager Bill Stepien, the campaign targeted battleground states that begin voting early, like North Carolina and Florida.
Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other campaign surrogates have made multiple trips to Pennsylvania over the past few weeks, ensuring local media coverage. Pence is scheduled to swing through Western Pennsylvania on Wednesday, and both Trump and Biden plan to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Friday in Shanksville, where a hijacked plane crashed.
And Trump is rarely far from the center of the news cycle, perhaps mitigating the importance of paid advertising. He was outspent significantly by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and still prevailed. But television ads convey a focused message in a way Trump himself often does not.
Trump did get some air cover last month from GOP outside groups, which spent about $11 million on commercials attacking Biden. Pro-Biden groups spent about $6 million.
The Trump and Biden campaigns didn’t comment Tuesday.
Biden’s campaign ads have highlighted his plans to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, rebuild the economy, and provide affordable healthcare. He’s also accused Trump of fomenting violence and jeopardizing Social Security through a proposed payroll tax cut.
Commercials aired by GOP groups have tried to tie Biden to calls by some left-wing activists to “defund the police,” and portrayed the former vice president as hostile to fracking, the controversial drilling technique.
