The campaigns and allies for three Republican establishment presidential candidates — Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and John Kasich — have spent a combined $47.5 million in TV ads in the 2016 race so far, according to ad-spending data from NBC News partner SMG Delta.
By contrast, the campaigns and allies for the three Republicans who have been leading or surging in the most recent polls — Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz — have spent just $2.9 million.
That’s a 16-to-1 advantage that these establishment candidates have over their outsider rivals. (And it’s more than 18-to-1 when you add another establishment Republican, Chris Christie, into the mix.)
But that ad-spending edge hasn’t translated in the polls.
The biggest spender in TV ads has been Bush, whose Right to Rise Super PAC has spent more than $28 million, while his campaign has chipped in an additional $460,000. Bush, however, has been stuck in single digit in national and early-state polls.
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The second-biggest spender has been Rubio – with his campaign and the outside groups backing him having shelled out $10.6 million. Unlike Bush, though, Rubio is in double digits in most polling.
Hillary Clinton, at nearly $10 million, is the third-largest advertiser in the 2016 race, and she is leading the Democratic presidential race. TV ad spending so far (through this week) SOURCE: NBC/SMG Delta This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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