PHOENIX — Arizona Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego announced a $19 million advertising reservation, the most any Senate candidate has spent in advertising this election cycle so far, according to the New York Times.
The advertisement blitz is in addition to the millions Gallego has already spent in advertising since March. These new adds will air starting June 18th, and run in Phoenix and Tucson markets, Gallego campaign spokesperson Hannah Goss told ABC15.
There’s a strategy to blitzing the airwaves, Democratic strategist Andy Barr said.
“It’s not so much because your ads get more effective, the more they are, but you're just minimizing the ability of your opponents to communicate. Right. So if you've got the resources, you're not only playing offense and extending your message, but you're playing defense by limiting what your opponents can communicate,” Barr told ABC15.
According to the latest finance reports, Gallego has nearly $10 million in cash on hand compared to the roughly $3 million GOP frontrunner Kari Lake has in her war chest.
Lake also is planning on spending $10 million on her own ad blitz, according to Axios. Lake dropped the first advertisement today focused on immigration.
“Kari Lake has had some spending here in Arizona, but very small. So that $10 million, I think is a little aspirational on her part. She hasn't raised nearly enough money to get there. We'll see if our fundraising can meet that goal,” Republican strategist Barrett Marson said.
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But how much does money really matter when determining which candidate will win in November? According to OpenSecrets Research Director Sarah Bryrner, a lot.
“So most of the time, if you spend the most money, you will win, but that isn't just because you're spending money. To get that money, you had to get out there and knock on doors, meet your constituents, ideally. And so that usually is part of the factor here, money equals popularity,” Bryner said.
But if a candidate funds their own campaign, it’s a different story.
“People who fund their own campaigns do not typically win. If you're raising money, the traditional way you are interacting with human beings who ultimately will be able to support you at the polls. If you're spending your own money. You're not. That's your money. So that's why, you know, money is critically important. But it isn't necessarily the story in and of itself,” Bryner said.
In the 2022 Senate election cycle, the candidate who spent the most won 82% of the time, according to OpenSecrets, a non-partisan organization that tracks campaign finance and lobbying Data.
We’ll have to wait until November to see if that trend continues, but first Kari Lake will have to face-off with Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the primary in July.
