TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Spending for political ads in Florida has already topped $13 million in the race to be Florida's next governor and U.S. senator. Such early spending used to be considered foolish, but not necessarily so in today's world of self-funders.
Rick Scott is already up with his third TV spot, including one in Spanish, in his race for the U.S. Senate. So far, Scott has spent $5 million on TV. The Republican Governors Association has dropped an additional $6 million to reserve time for Scott through the election.
Recommended Videos
Democratic consultant Kevin Cate said it is classic Scott.
"Rick Scott is spending because this is formula for winning," Cate said. "Even when he beat Charlie Crist, he had a higher unfavorability rating."
At the end of the 2014 election, it looked like Scott might actually lose to former governor Crist, until he started spending $2 million a day on TV.
The other big early spender is Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Philip Levine. Between his political action committee and his campaign, Levine has spent more than $8 million introducing himself, including more than $4 million from his own pocket. His latest ad is a collection of TV reports on the race.
GOP consultant Mac Stipanovich said such early spending used to be a waste of money.
"You probably get 20 cents on the dollar in terms of value at the ballot box," Stipanovich said.
After TV, the biggest expenses for campaigns so far are campaign consultants.
GOP Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who wants to be governor, has raised $20 million. His main opponent, Congressman Ron DeSantis, has gotten so much free time on Fox News that Putnam was forced to begin spending more than a half-million on television commercials, which began running just over a week ago.