HUFFPOST FUNDRACE - Money Goes To SC, FL

Paul Blumenthal
Updated
HUFFPOST FUNDRACE - Money Goes To SC, FL

Mitt Romney is moving on from his 8 vote win in the Iowa caucuses and is looking beyond New Hampshire to South Carolina and Florida. According to the Washington Post he's made an $825,000 ad buy in Florida. The Miami Herald reports that this ad buy covers nine of ten Florida media markets.

That comes after his super PAC -- Restore Our Future -- laid the groundwork by spending $622,159 on negative ads and mailers opposing Newt Gingrich in Florida and an additional $97,209 on negative ads that attack both Gingrich and Rick Perry in South Carolina. There's no doubt that the multi-million dollar super PAC will spend millions more to pave the road for Romney to walk on.

A super PAC backing Newt Gingrich signaled today that it may be ready to hit back against Romney by posting a web video crafted by Sen. John McCain in his 2008 run for the GOP presidential nod against Mitt Romney. The web ad expertly displays Romney's many positions on issues important to conservative voters over the years. Will we finally see a super PAC or candidate take on Romney?

Rick Perry is buying air time in South Carolina signaling that he will continue to fight on. [Politico]

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How much did each candidate spend on media purchases per vote in the Iowa caucuses? Perry spent the most: a whopping $480 per vote. [The Atlantic]

The oil industry's top trade group, the American Petroleum Institute, is planning an ad campaign to raise the industry's issues in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. [The Hill]

HuffPost's Mike Sacks takes a look at what happened in Montana where the state's Supreme Court just rejected the Citizens United ruling. [HuffPost]

CAMPAIGN VIDEOS

Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. Send your submissions to paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.

Committee: Mitt Romney for President
Spot: "American Optimism--New Hampshire" -- This radio ad for Romney's New Hampshire campaign contains the Romney speech that has become the staple of all of the candidate's ads. Romney intones, "It's time for this pessimistic president to step out of the way and let American optimism that built this greatest nation on Earth build a greater future for our children."
Link: [http://youtu.be/KLMOvIxd6Zg]
Market: New Hampshire. (Radio)
Buy: Undisclosed.

Committee: Women Vote! (Emily's List)
Spot: "Rob Cornilles: Wrong Then; Wrong Now" -- Emily's List gets involved in the special election in Oregon's First congressional district with a $86,850 ad buy blasting Republican candidate Rob Cornilles. The ad comes from the group's super PAC, Women Vote!, and uses footage of Cornilles touting an endorsement from Oregon Right to Life against him.
Link: [http://youtu.be/WnNiAHtz8M4]
Market: Oregon-01
Buy: $86,850.

Committee: Jon Huntsman for President
Spot: "Only One" -- An ad from Jon Huntsman, who has mostly relied on web videos, comes as attention turns to the one state that he has bet his entire presidential campaign on, New Hampshire. The ad features Huntsman's line from a debate about how the nation has a "trust deficit" and that he will fix it.
Link: [http://youtu.be/7r8z0uag5mI]
Market: New Hampshire.
Buy: Undisclosed.

TRACKING INDEPENDENT SPENDING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:

These numbers represent spending by independent groups, like super PACs and non-profits, to support or oppose a particular candidate for the presidency in 2012. Fundrace will update this spending daily to help show which candidates are gaining from the proliferation of independent groups in this coming election.

Newt Gingrich (R), $873,100 to support, $4,116,274 to oppose. (+$6,150)
Rick Perry (R), $3,798,524 to support, $0 to oppose.
Jon Huntsman (R), $2,233,204 to support, $0 to oppose.
Mitt Romney (R), $475,000 to support, $329,473 to oppose.
Ron Paul (R), $619,355 to support, $80,825 to oppose. ($61,667)
Rick Santorum (R), $629,735 to support, $0 to oppose.
Herman Cain (R), $462,217 to support, $0 to oppose.
Barack Obama (D), $0 to support, $417,919 to oppose.
Gary Johnson (R), $518 to support, $0 to oppose.

RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

Women Vote!, $104,350 to oppose Rob Cornilles for Congress.
Endorse Liberty, $61,667 to support Ron Paul for President.

RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS

NONE

Send tips, hints, submissions, rumors to HuffPost Fundrace at paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.