$20 Million Spent To Oppose President Barack Obama

In August, Super PACs dished out a total of $105 million. That number will likely easily be eclipsed in September, as a total of $69,116,523 has already been spent by Super PACs through the first 18 days of the month.

Super PACs, officially known as "independent expenditure-only committee", are able to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for the sole purpose of supporting or opposing political candidates.

So, let's say that I am a wealthy supporter of Mitt Romney. I could cut a pro-Romney Super PAC a check for $10 million, which could then be used to buy attack ads on Barack Obama.

Super PACs can directly attack or oppose any candidate - the only caveat is that they can not coordinate directly with candidates or political parties.

As mentioned, nearly $70 million in Super PAC money has been spent during the first 18 days of September.

Let's look at the ten most active Super PACs in September by expenditures:

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE, $8,477,069
Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, $8,005,484
American Crossroads, $6,679,924
AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY, $5,977,536
Priorities USA Action, $4,967,327
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, $3,741,164
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES P E O P L E, $2,749,479
DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, $2,552,119
SEIU COPE (Service Employees International Union Committee On Political Education), $2,446,606
House Majority PAC, $2,245,399

The top four spenders are all pro-Romney/anti-Obama Super PACs, while "Priorities USA Action" is pro-Obama.

Let's look at the 10 largest single expenditures of the month so far:

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY spent $5,718,406 to oppose Obama, Barack
Type: Advertising-TV placement (Replace)

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies spent $5,329,340 to oppose OBAMA, BARACK
Type: TV / MEDIA PLACEMENT

American Crossroads spent $5,314,225 to oppose OBAMA, BARACK
Type: TV / MEDIA PLACEMENT

Priorities USA Action spent $2,334,979 to oppose Romney, Mitt
Type: Media TV Advertising Buy

Planned Parenthood Votes spent $1,744,000 to oppose Romney, Mitt
Type: Media time to air television advertisement

Priorities USA Action spent $1,637,342 to oppose Romney, Mitt
Type: Media TV Advertising Buy

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES P E O P L E spent $1,090,825 to oppose HELLER, DEAN
Type: TV - 'Side'

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies spent $1,046,974 to oppose KAINE, TIM
Type: TV / MEDIA PLACEMENT

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies spent $1,021,858 to oppose BROWN, SHERROD
Type: TV / MEDIA PLACEMENT

FREEDOM PAC spent $997,500 to support MACK, CONNIE
Type: TV/Cable Placement

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Nearly $20 million ($19,982,370 to be precise) has been spent to oppose President Obama in September, while $8,369,392 has been spent to oppose Mitt Romney.

On the other hand, $2,185,182 has been spent to support President Obama in September, while just a fraction of that was spent to oppose Mitt Romney.

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Expect Super PAC spending to continue to accelerate as we enter the final stretches of the 2012 US Presidential race.

Source: SuperPAC Spending

Filed under: General Knowledge