Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott’s campaign confirmed they have spent $10 million to secure prime advertising spots in the last month of the general election.
Political expert Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said an early buy-in can mean locking in lower rates and the campaign’s ability to reserve the best ad placement.
Jillson said the timing of this news, which comes the same time of the Texas Democratic Party convention, is also a "shot across the bow."
"The Abbott campaign is getting out early and hard, can the Davis campaign follow suit?” Jillson said.
Officials with the Abbott campaign labeled the advertising purchase as a base buy, meaning they are planning to spend much more between this summer and the November 4 election.
"I think this will be the most heated advertising campaign we’ve seen in our lifetime simply because the Democrats will be able to compete," Jillson said. "So I expect Abbott to spend $40 million. I expect Davis to spend $25 million-$30 million.”
Even after the $10 million advertising purchase, Abbott’s campaign still has a lot of cash on hand. In February, the campaign reported $29 million in campaign finances; new campaign finance numbers are expected to come out on June 30.
