The 'cheapest' primary in a decade: 5 theories
Confounding expectations, GOP candidates have spent considerably less so far than their counterparts in the last several presidential races. Why?

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The 2012 presidential election is expected to be the most expensive ever: The Center for Responsive Politics forecasts that an astonishing $6 billion will be spent. President Obama is aiming to raise $1 billion, his GOP rival will surely try to match him, and — thanks to loosened campaign-finance rules — outside groups' spending on campaign ads could reach record levels. Odd, then, that so far, the GOP race has been "one of the cheapest primaries in more than a decade," Bloomberg reports. The top nine Republican candidates spent just $53 million through September, versus $132 million in the same period four years ago. What's going on? Here, five theories:
1. The glut of debates gives candidates free advertising
The candidates grouse about the grueling debate schedule, but it's the 11 televised face-offs that "have made this the cheapest Republican primary season since 1996," says Don Surber in the Charleston, W.V., Daily Mail. The much-watched debates have been great for most of the candidates — sorry, Rick Perry — by allowing cash-strapped contenders like Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain to rise to the top while helping "Mitt Romney conserve all that cash he has." With this much "free airtime" from the TV networks, who needs to pay for ads?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Viral web videos are cheaper and better than TV ads
The "profusion of 'web ads' being put out by the campaigns" has slashed expenses, says Jazz Shaw at Hot Air. The cost of producing ads was always far less than paying TV stations to air them, so free web distribution is a boon. And since people choose to watch them, says Ann Althouse at her blog, these viral web ads will "become more important than those paid ads on television." Bonus: If a web video is "flamboyant" or bizarre enough, adds Shaw, cable news shows replay it "in endless loops to the target audience" that the campaigns want to reach.
3. Social media has streamlined campaigning
The campaigns are getting smart about using new, "free resources like Twitter and Facebook to get some buzz going," says Shaw at Hot Air. The rise of social media has also changed how campaigns spend by giving candidates "greater opportunity to connect with voters electronically and build databases of potential donors and volunteers without investing large amounts of time on the ground," says Jeff Zeleny in The New York Times.
4. Fox News has replaced costly retail politics
The biggest change in this election cycle has been the death of traditional meet-and-greet retail politics, says Zeleny in The New York Times. Why should candidates spend time and money to visit Iowa and New Hampshire voters when "it's like a town hall every day on Fox News," says Gov. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). The "Fox News effect" can be seen in the numbers: The network has interviewed Cain 63 times since he entered the race, and Gingrich has made 52 appearances.
5. The candidates are hoarding their cash for Obama
Leave it to tightfisted Republicans to slash their campaign spending during a recession, says Libby Spencer at The Impolitic. But don't worry: "This is just the pre-game show." While some candidates, like Gingrich, don't have the cash to run ads now, wealthy ones like Romney and Perry are just keeping their powder dry. Once the GOP settles on a nominee, that candidate and allied political-action groups will "unleash a tsunami of cash to defeat Obama."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Biden's first rodeo
cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biden's stumble
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily gossip: Travis Kelce chats about Taylor Swift's Chiefs game visit, Hollywood writers thrilled with details of new contract as strike ends, and more
The daily gossip: September 27, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries chosen to succeed Pelosi as leader of House Democrats
Speed Read
By Brigid Kennedy Published
-
GOP leader Kevin McCarthy's bid for House speaker may really be in peril
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Are China's protests a real threat for Beijing?
opinion The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web
By Harold Maass Published
-
Who is Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist who dined with Trump and Kanye?
Speed Read From Charlottesville to Mar-a-Lago in just five years
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Jury convicts Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracy in landmark Jan. 6 verdict
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
A look at the White House's festive and homey holiday decor
Speed Read
By Brigid Kennedy Published
-
Bob Iger addresses 'Don't Say Gay' bill, says inclusion is part of Disney's values
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published