Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, her campaign has significantly outspent former President Donald Trump’s campaign, surpassing him by at least $47 million in digital ads and more than $20 million in ads on digital streaming services.
According to a report from The Daily Wire, between July 25 and August 23, the Harris Victory Fund and Harris for President campaign spent $27,388,780 on Meta ads, while the Trump National Committee Campaign spent only $2,631,466.
Harris’ campaign has concentrated its efforts on key battleground states, with the top five being Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Georgia. Trump’s campaign has also focused on Pennsylvania, particularly in Wilkes-Barre and Harrisburg, as well as Atlanta, Georgia, and Bozeman, Montana.
On YouTube, the Harris campaign spent $11,257,700, targeting states like California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Washington. In contrast, the Trump campaign spent $5,393,600 on ads in Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. While Trump’s campaign has focused primarily on battleground states, Harris’ strategy has also included significant ad spending in states like California and New York, which are unlikely to be swayed from their Democratic leanings.
Democrats have often criticized the electoral college, arguing that it is less democratic than a simple popular vote, as it doesn’t marginalize smaller states. By investing heavily in safe blue states, the Harris campaign might be betting on winning the popular vote.
Harris is also outspending Trump on Google ads, with her campaign spending $18,933,100, targeting a mix of blue and red states: California, New York, Washington, Texas, and Massachusetts. The Trump campaign, spending $2,197,800, has focused on both friendly and unfriendly states, including California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Georgia.
In July and August, Harris benefitted from what Google described as “bugs” that impacted searches related to the attempted assassination of Trump. These issues led to search results that prioritized Harris-related content over Trump-related content. Google claimed these were unintended errors, not a reflection of bias.
The Financial Times reports that Harris is also outspending Trump on digital streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Peacock, as well as connected TVs like Roku. Harris’ campaign has spent $56 million, compared to Trump’s $30 million. After Labor Day, the Harris campaign plans to launch an advertising blitz with $370 million allocated for television and digital stream ads.
Trump’s campaign has fewer funds to spend, largely due to legal expenses from the numerous court cases brought against him by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice and other prosecutors. Trump continues to rely on the visibility from his mass rallies, which are covered by mainstream media and widely shared on social media channels, often reaching viewership numbers comparable to or greater than those of cable news networks. Despite an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, PA, Trump’s enthusiasm for these events remains undiminished.