Castle, Tea Party Re-Up Ad Buys In DE
Updated, 12:28 p.m.
Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) and the Tea Party Express purchased more air time last night for what's shaping up to be a nasty run up to next Tuesday's primary.
Castle bought another 1,000 gross ratings points in the Salisbury, MD, market, which covers southern DE, according to Dem sources who monitor ad buying. That cost him about $75K. He has also purchased another $27K worth of statewide cable and about $43K worth of statewide radio.
The Tea Party Express, which is doing the bidding of Christine O'Donnell (R), purchased 427 gross ratings points on cable only in the Salisbury market. That cost them $32K.
Both ad buys start today and run through primary day next Tuesday.
The ad buy brings Castle's total spent on the air in the primary to about $328K. Hotline On Call reported last week that Castle purchased about $180K of air time.
The Tea Party Express vowed to spend $250K on the race, but at this point it looks like it may be difficult for them to reach that goal before the primary. The Tea Party Express' previous ad buy was for $17K and it claimed on Tuesday to have spent $60K on the race so far. The Tea Party is planning a radio-thon for O'Donnell on Thursday, which should cost about $6K, and 2 direct mail pieces, which should cost about $20K each, according to knowledgeable DE sources. So, with the biggest estimate, that brings Tea Party Express spending to just less than $138K.
If the Tea Party Express wants to get to its $250K goal, one DE operative suggested it would have to pour a lot of money into air time in the costly Philly market at the last minute.
Castle went on the air on Tuesday with a negative TV ad, targeting O'Donnell for tax issues and defaulting on her mortgage.