PRESS: ALLEN CAMPAIGN PULLS AD BUYS IN THE CRITICAL, FINAL STRECH OF THE ELECTION
".we are now into the last eight-nine weeks of the campaign. Both campaigns have to marshal their resources and George Allen has a fundraising deficit. Every quarter of the year, he's raised less money that Tim Kaine, so he's always been behind. Now is when that matters because both campaigns want to be saturated, they want to be on every market, they want to be here, they want to be in Richmond, they want to be in Roanoke. So we learned last week that George Allen had to pull an ad buy that he had set for this week."
Richmond, VA - Today, Politico reporter David Catanese went on News Channel 8 to discuss the news that with less than nine weeks to go to Election Day the Allen campaign has cancelled television ad buys. In the interview, Catanese emphasizes the dangers of pulling down airtime in the critical post-Labor Day window that marks the final stretch of the campaign, as Kaine continues to broadcast his ads across the state, which launched in August. He also notes that as the Allen campaign goes dark, Kaine's significant fundraising advantage has allowed him to purchase $4.5 million in ad time that will keep the campaign on the air through Election Day. Please see below for the full transcript of the exchange.
View clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNgpb27d2eM&feature=youtu.be
TRANSCRIPT:
[HOST] "The race for the Virginia senate seat being vacated by Jim Webb remains tight as former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen enter the crucial post-Labor Day phase of their campaigns. Now is the time for the candidates to push their agenda, so why has George Allen cancelled his ads while his opponent has purchased more than $4.5 million of spots? David Catanese is the political reporter for Politico and joins us now with more on this. Thanks for joining us."
[CATANESE] "Yeah, good to be with you."
[HOST] "So let's start with the headline, George Allen scrappin' the ads. What's up with that?"
[CATANESE] "Yeah, well this is all about money, obviously. And we are now into the last eight-nine weeks of the campaign. Both campaigns have to marshal their resources and George Allen has a fundraising deficit. Every quarter of the year, he's raised less money that Tim Kaine, so he's always been behind. Now is when that matters because both campaigns want to be saturated, they want to be on every market, they want to be here, they want to be in Richmond, they want to be in Roanoke. So we learned last week that George Allen had to pull an ad buy that he had set for this week."
[HOST] "In Roanoke?"
[CATANESE] "Yeah, Roanoke, Norfolk, and Richmond-basically because he doesn't have the money to and he wants to save it for a little later. Now his campaign says, 'look, the fall premieres start a little later, we want to maximize our viewership.' But, Tim Kaine has been on the air since late August. He's got a $5 million buy that started then and is will go all the way through the election and George Allen's going to be dark a little bit. So, if you're just at home and tuning into this race, you're watching your favorite programs and clicking around, you're seeing Tim Kaine ads, you're not George Allen ads."
[HOST] "Right. So, how much is this going to hurt Allen?"
[CATANESE] "Well, that is the hundred-thousand dollar question, here. They have been tied for two years, basically, in the polls. It hasn't moved many points either way. But, this is when the voters that aren't consumed with this stuff all day long tune in, and they're fighting over maybe 5% of the vote here."
[HOST] "And that could determine the race."
[CATANESE] "Right. And remember in 2006, Jim Webb only won this seat by 9,000 votes, so the Allen and Kaine campaigns are preparing for just as close of an outcome here. So, 9,000 people that are watching these. I don't know, when you're not up for a couple weeks, that does matter. It will be interesting to see if we see a poll that comes out in mid-September that sort of captures when George Allen wasn't on the air to see if it did hurt him. That's when we'll know."
View clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNgpb27d2eM&feature=youtu.be
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