Jill Stein Has Outspent Trump on Election Ads

It's an easy feat since Trump has spent $0
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 16, 2016 10:22 AM CDT
Jill Stein Has Outspent Trump on Election Ads
Donald Trump speaks in Youngstown, Ohio.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Hillary Clinton has spent $61 million on TV ads in two months, a hefty sum that does not include $43 million spent by pro-Clinton groups. That's exactly $104 million more than Donald Trump. With less than three months until the election, the Republican candidate has yet to spend a dollar on TV ads, though pro-Trump groups have contributed $12.4 million. Even Green Party candidate Jill Stein has spent more, about $189,000, while Libertarian Gary Johnson has spent $15,000, reports NBC News. If Trump were already well ahead, keeping money in the bank might make sense. But an NBC weekly national poll finds he's nine points behind Clinton, 50% to 41%, with a slightly higher unfavorability rating of 64% compared to Clinton's 59%.

Trump—of whom only 19% of Republican and Republican-leaning poll respondents say has the personality and temperament to serve as president—is hardly short on cash. As the New York Times reports, Trump and the Republicans raised $82 million last month alone. So what’s he spending his money on? Philip Bump at the Washington Post says it's "a question that defies a logical answer." He adds Trump's lack of spending is particularly strange because "the longer the Trump campaign waits to reserve ad time, the less ad time exists to buy and the more ads cost" since candidates in House and Senate races are also in the mix. "Political scientists, you now have an amazing case study on your hands," as NBC puts it. (More Election 2016 stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X