Romney ad advantage doesn't tell the whole story

Associated Press

BETH FOUHY, Associated Press, JACK GILLUM, Associated Press

Updated: Oct 18, 2012 11:39 AM

NEW YORK (AP) — Independent groups supporting Republican Mitt Romney have helped him match or even exceed President Barack Obama's TV ad spending in dozens of media markets in battleground states. But Obama is still getting more value for his money with his ads.

The reason? Under federal law, stations must offer presidential campaigns a discounted price to run their spots in the two months leading up to Election Day. In some cases, that means Obama pays almost half as much for an ad.

An Associated Press analysis of presidential campaign advertising data since April found that pro-Romney spending has exceeded pro-Obama ad spending by at least $65 million across the eight states expected to decide the election.

Those states are Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

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