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South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott's campaign has been able to make a significant impression on the television airwaves since he jumped into the presidential race last month thanks to his campaign's deep pockets.
While other GOP presidential hopefuls have been boosted primarily by outside groups, the South Carolina senator's campaign has spent more on TV ads in the almost three weeks since he launched his bid. That's given him a big boost on the airwaves, thanks to rules that allow candidates to book television advertising time at lower rates than outside groups.
For example: Both Scott’s campaign and MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump, booked ads on the New Hampshire ABC affiliate WMUR-9 just 20 minutes apart on May 26. Scott’s campaign paid $1,000 for the time slot. But for MAGA Inc., an ad on the same show cost $2,500, according to ad contracts filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
The benefit of securing that candidate rate is clear when looking at gross rating points (GRPs), a television industry term that approximates reach (100 gross rating points is equivalent to 100% of the target audience seeing an ad one time, or another permutation like 25% of the audience seeing an ad four times).
Since Scott's official launch on May 23, Scott's campaign has spent almost $700,000 on broadcast television, per AdImpact — more than any other candidate in the race and more than any other group except MAGA Inc., which has spent $1.5 million on broadcast television over that same stretch.
But while MAGA Inc. has spent twice what Scott's campaign has spent on broadcast television, Scott's broadcast spending has bought him more than 7,600 GRPs compared to MAGA Inc.'s 4,500.
There are a few important caveats to note, as this is not the full picture of the ad-spending landscape.
AdImpact only calculates GRPs for broadcast television, but campaigns and outside groups are also buying cable, satellite and internet ads. And Scott's bid has also been boosted by his own supportive super PAC that's expected to be a big spender in the primary.
But the example is illustrative of the advantage that campaigns get when they raise and spend their own cash on the TV airwaves.