Since the Republican presidential primaries began on Feb. 1 in Iowa, major super PACs have spent more than $40 million to attack Donald Trump.
Anti-Trump spending passed the $40 million mark on May 24, when Priorities USA Action (a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC) spent $1.7 million on a TV ad buy against the presumptive GOP nominee. The week prior, Priorities USA Action spent $2 million on a separate ad buy.
To date, Priorities USA Action has spent a combined $3.8 million against Trump this election cycle, less than one-tenth of all anti-Trump spending. Most anti-Trump spending came earlier in the election, from super PACs affiliated with his GOP rivals or conservative super PACs independently opposing Trump. The biggest spender since Feb. 1 was Our Principles PAC, whose sole mission was to bring down Trump, so every dollar it spent ($16 million) was against him. Other super PACs also spent money to support their own candidate. Marco Rubio’s super PAC, Conservative Solutions, spent the second-most against Trump ($11 million).
More than three-quarters of every dollar spent against Trump in the last four months came in February and March. Since then, the spending has dwindled, but the millions spent by Priorities USA Action in May pushed spending above the April total. Super PAC spending should eventually pick up again and peak in October, although it’s not clear if that peak will surpass the monthly spending totals from the busiest parts of the GOP primary.
Clinton’s super PAC likely has millions of dollars in cash on hand dedicated to opposing Trump this election season. But it’s not guaranteed it will hurt Trump, because the $40 million hasn’t seemed to hurt him much so far. More money has been spent against Trump since Feb. 1 than against every other candidate combined. He’s managed to emerge as the GOP nominee anyway. All that negative spending, however, may have contributed to Trump’s -23 net favorable rating.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
