Palmetto State “Ground Zero” For Presidential Ads

JEB BUSH, BEN CARSON DOMINATING 2016 AIRWAVES

South Carolina’s presidential primary follows Iowa and New Hampshire on the “Republican” calendar (for now) … yet the Palmetto State is currently “ground zero” for 2016 advertising.

Thank God U.S. Senator Marco Rubio didn’t get his way, huh?

According to the latest data from Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG) – as reported by Bloomberg – a total of 1,039 presidential campaign spots aired on broadcast television in South Carolina from October 27 through November 2.  That’s well ahead of Iowa (783) and nearly twice the number of spots that aired in New Hampshire (565).

Who’s running the most ads?  Former Florida governor Jeb Bush … or at least the political action committee supporting his candidacy.

According to the CMAG, the Right to Rise PAC ran 1,485 spots – well ahead of the 581 spots run by the campaign of retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

“Carson is buying primarily in the Upstate market and is expanding out from there,” a source familiar with the media spending told FITS.  “Bush’s Super PAC is and has been statewide for some time.”

Is it moving the needle though?  Good question …

Bush’s flagging candidacy is desperately looking for a boost in the polls – and his situation became even more precarious after a disappointing debate performance last week.  Our guess is if this latest media blitzkrieg fails to produce an uptick in his numbers, he will not be long for the 2016 election.

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