Team Romney’s big ad-spending advantage: While it’s technically correct that the Obama campaign is outspending the Romney campaign in TV advertising in the battleground states, you can’t say the same thing when adding all the outside groups. Right now, Team Romney -- the campaign, the RNC, and all the GOP-leaning outside groups -- is outspending Team Obama (campaign, DNC, outside groups) this week by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, $25 million to $14 million. That $25 million, in fact, is more than we’ve seen from one side during any other week this cycle. Here’s the full breakdown on this week’s ad spending (from July 30 to Aug. 5), according to data from SMG Delta: Obama $12.8 million, Crossroads GPS $9.7 million, Romney $8.1 million, Restore Our Future $3.8 million, RNC $2.5 million, Priorities USA $1 million, American Crossroads $940,000. Note that Crossroads GPS is outspending the Romney camp right now, and the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity has booked a multimillion buy slated to begin next week.
And it’s been that way for the past month: What’s more, Team Romney has enjoyed this ad-spending edge for much of the past month. Last week (starting July 23), for example, it was Team Romney’s $22 million vs. Team Obama’s nearly $15 million; the week before that (July 16), it was Team Romney’s $19 million vs. Team Obama’s $10 million; and the week before that (July 9), it was Team Romney’s $13 million vs. Team Obama’s $9 million. You have to go back to July 2 to see when there was true parity between the two advertising forces. So while some -- like Karl Rove in today’s Wall Street Journal -- might observe that the Obama campaign’s ad spending hasn’t really moved the needle, you could also make another argument. For the past month, Team Romney has enjoyed a sizable ad-spending advantage, and that hasn’t moved the needle, either. (And considering what’s popping inside some of the polls, you can make an argument that Team Obama appears to be, for now, getting more bang for its buck.)