Michael Bloomberg Hits Quarter-Billion Mark in Campaign Spending

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Bloomberg has spent more than a quarter billion dollars on political advertising since joining the Democratic presidential race, far outpacing all other candidates.

Bloomberg’s presidential campaign has spent $209.3 million on broadcast television time, $13.7 million on cable, $1.1 million on radio and $27.2 million on digital, according to data from Advertising Analytics, which tracks political ad spending.

The former New York mayor has spent $116 million more than fellow billionaire Tom Steyer, who is also relying on his personal fortune to fund his campaign. Bernie Sanders, the next biggest spender among Democrats, has purchased $26.8 million of media.

On the Republican side, President Donald Trump has spent about $46 million so far through two committees, mostly on digital ads.

Unlike his Democratic rivals, Bloomberg is focused on states holding their nominating contests later in the year. He’s spent $12.8 million in Los Angeles and $12.5 million in New York City, and has made seven-figure purchases of air time in other markets in California as well as in Texas, Illinois and Florida.

Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Magan Sherzai

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.