Two conservative groups launched new ad offensives in Michigan and Pennsylvania as they hope to build support for Mitt Romney as the election draws near.
Americans for Prosperity, a group advocating for limited government and cutting government spending, began a $3 million campaign in the two states 11/1, running a previously-aired spot that features people it says voted for the president in 2008 and won’t this time around, reports CNN.
“He did get his health care through, but at what cost,” one woman, Robin, says in the spot.
“I had hoped the new president would bring new jobs, not major layoffs,” another woman, Maria, says.
A third voter, Richard, said of the president: “He said he was going to cut the deficit in his first term. I’ve seen zero interest in reducing spending. He inherited a bad situation but made it worst.”
The spot ends with the words: “Has President Obama earned your vote? It’s time for a change.”
This new buy – which includes a second spot featuring a Canadian citizen talking about her problems with her country’s health care system and urging Americans to get engaged in the health care debate – brings to $35 million the amount the group has spent on ads advocating against the president. A separate part of the group has spent $45 million on issue education aimed at the presidential race and Senate campaigns.
As part of a $5 million final ad offensive of the campaign, the second group, American Future Fund, is also investing heavily in those same states, buying $1.88 million worth of TV time in Michigan and $1.67 million in Pennsylvania, a spokesman for the group confirmed to CNN.
It also purchased $457,000 of time in the battleground state of Ohio. For this buy AFF will run two of its previous ads: “Real Solutions,” featuring all women talking about some of the economic problems facing the nation and “A New Path,” which uses clips of Romney from the presidential debate talking about the economic vision and detailing his economic plan.
The group is also investing $1.3 million for radio ads in the key states of Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Hampshire and Minnesota, where it also has advertising on television. Last week both the Romney and Obama campaigns also placed went up with TV ads in the state.
Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, told CNN there were several reasons why the group chose to go on the air in two states not considered the most competitive: “The return on our investment is very good,” he said, adding voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania are not being inundated with campaign ads and calling it a “real opportunity.”
A new EPIC-MRA poll in Michigan showed the president beating Romney by a 48% to 42% margin, while a Franklin & Marshall survey in Pennsylvania had the president with a 49% to 45% advantage.
While the Obama campaign says it is confident of its chances in both Michigan and Pennsylvania, it purchased television time this week in both to match Republican buys. “We will not cede any state in this race,” Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod told reporters Wednesday in a conference call.
