After spending tens of millions of dollars competing in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign and her allies have little advertising booked in the weeks ahead as the pace of the White House race dramatically accelerates.
Haley’s campaign has spent just $471,000 advertising in Michigan, the state hosting its primary on Tuesday, according to AdImpact data. The lead super PAC supporting her campaign, SFA Fund, filed a report with the FEC indicating it would spend $500,000 on digital ads also targeting Michigan, but the group has not reserved any TV airtime there.
The minimal effort from Haley’s network in Michigan contrasts sharply with the expensive campaigns her team waged in previous nominating contests. Haley and her allies spent about $37 million advertising in Iowa, about $32 million advertising in New Hampshire and more than $16 million advertising in South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s campaign has spent just $42,000 in Michigan, on radio ads in the immediate run-up to Tuesday’s vote.
And Haley, Trump and their allies currently don’t have any ad time booked beyond tomorrow, with the high-stakes slate of Super Tuesday contests looming on March 5.
Haley’s network could be especially hard-pressed to compete across several states holding their nominating contests that day, some with large, expensive media markets like California and Texas, as she seeks to cut into Trump’s commanding lead.
