Michael Bloomberg is on track to outspend Obama's entire 2012 campaign — all before Super Tuesday


Michael Bloomberg's billionaire status is impossible to hide.
The former New York City mayor and Democratic presidential candidate may have entered the 2020 race months late, but he's more than making up for it with his excessive ad spending. Bloomberg's campaign is projected to spend upwards of $400 million by March, beating out what former President Barack Obama spent on his entire 2012 reelection bid, The New York Times reports via data from Advertising Analytics.
Bloomberg has barely been running for president for a month, and yet has already spent $128 million on TV ads and another $18 million for ads on Google and Facebook. That puts him on track to hit $400 million by the Super Tuesday primaries early next year — Bloomberg is focusing on those contests instead of the first four primaries and caucuses because of how late he entered the race. $400 million is just about how much Obama spent throughout his entire general election campaign in 2012. Bloomberg's ad spending also trumps President Trump's, at least on Google and YouTube, where he's spent more in the past month on ads than Trump has all year.
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.
All that money isn't just pushing a universal message, either. As the Times notes, Bloomberg's campaign said it "produced 160 versions of its ads on social media alone, reaching 15.5 million people in the first two weeks of December." One ad features a man from Pennsylvania noting how Trump is focusing on the state while other Democrats are apparently ignoring it, while others focus on similar swing states such as Wisconsin.
Bloomberg has yet to see a major poll bump from his spending spree, so we'll just have to wait and see if money really can buy an election.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Do smartphone bans in schools work?
The Explainer Trials in UK, New Zealand, France and the US found prohibition may be only part of the solution
-
Doom: The Dark Ages – an 'exhilarating' prequel
The Week Recommends Legendary shooter adds new combat options from timed parries to melee attacks and a 'particularly satisfying' shield charge
-
7 US cities to explore on a microtrip
The Week Recommends Not enough vacation days? No problem.
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members