U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes and his Democratic backers managed to ramp up their paid media spending over the last month, nearly closing a $3.2 million gap that U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and his GOP allies had accumulated at the end of September. According to AdImpact, as of September 27, Republicans had a $3.2 million advantage in TV, radio, and digital spending through the November 8 general election. This week, that gap was reduced to $715,000, with Republicans having $14.5 million reserved compared to Democrats’ $13.8 million. The increase in spending comes after Barnes announced he raised $20.1 million in the third quarter and then another $1.5 million following his first debate with Johnson.
The next round of campaign finance reports for federal candidates are due October 15.
