Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is placing an eight-figure buy across radio, TV, cable, digital, and direct mail in two key early voting states. According to multiple sources, the biotech entrepreneur is spending $8 million in Iowa and $4 million in New Hampshire.
The huge ad campaign is only the beginning for Ramaswamy who is running for the Republican Presidential nomination. His campaign and his aligned American Exceptionalism PAC have spent considerably less compared to others who are running in the primary, including former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
“Vivek is making an eight-figure buy across Iowa and New Hampshire,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the New York Post. “Vivek’s not an idiot. Anytime earlier would have been stupid. And this is just the beginning.”
The ads were set to start on Saturday, Nov. 4, McLaughlin said, adding “If people thought he was aggressive with events leading up to this, stay tuned for post-Nov. 8,” which is the date of the next GOP Presidential Primary debate.
“We’re going to stop at nothing until we win,” Ramaswamy said in New Hampshire Wednesday, Politico reports. “And so, I think you’re going to see that pretty soon, and it’s going to ramp up and so stay posted, but it’s just going to be the tip of the iceberg is what you’ve seen so far, in between now and January.”
Political ad spending in the 2024 cycle has already topped the $1 billion mark as the rate of spending continues to outpace the 2020 cycle, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact. As of Oct. 27, $1.06 billion was spent, compared to $640 million that had been invested at this point four years ago.
Local political ad spending is projected to total $11 billion in the 2024 cycle, according to BIA Advisory Services. BIA says $516 million will be invested this year, which is up significantly compared to the past two non-federal election years. BIA says $105.8 million was spent two years ago and $254.3 million in 2019.