The Democratic super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign plans to begin its Florida advertising blitz two months ahead of schedule, filling a vacuum created by bickering Republicans.
- Super PAC Priorities USA Action added $20 million to advertising budget
- Additional funds allow super PAC to air ads in 7 swing states starting June 8
- Rival Republican super PACs' resources drained by attack ads on fellow Republicans
The super PAC, Priorities USA Action, has increased its general election advertising budget from $70 million to $90 million. The additional $20 million will allow it to begin airing television ads in 7 swing states - including Florida - on June 8, the day after the California primary.
Early digital ads from Priorities USA Action have focused on the disarray plaguing the Republican presidential nominating contest. They warn of "the end of the Republican Party," a message they clearly hope will prove persuasive with swing voters in Florida.
Because Republicans have spent much of the 2016 cycle attacking each other, many of Priorities' rival super PACs have been drained of the money party strategists had hoped to reserve for the fall campaign. As a result, the Priorities ads are likely to dominate the airwaves, at least initially.
Some Democrats do believe a late-stage cash infusion by Republican donors is likely. Currently, establishment Republican donors seem reluctant to give to super PACs supporting a presidential nominee named Trump or Cruz, but that may change as the fall campaign approaches.
"I suspect that they'll be on TV pretty quickly here," said Democratic strategist Steve Schale. "They have to win Florida. The last Republican to go to the White House without Florida was Calvin Coolidge, so I suspect that they're going to be invested in a pretty big way here, but what Priorities does is it allows (Clinton) to get a leg up."