Georgia Senate Run-Off Approaches Half Billion Ad Dollars

Two hotly contested runoff U.S. Senate races in Georgia have fueled nearly $500 million in advertising spending.

With nearly a month to go before the special election on January 5, AdImpact (formerly Advertising Analytics) says $457 million has been spent in advertising for the special election through December 11.

Interest and political advertising support have ramped up in these races, which will ultimately decide who holds the majority in the U.S. Senate.

Democratic contender Jon Ossoff has spent the most -- at $94.2 million. His fellow Democratic contender, Raphael Warnock, has spent $64.7 million.

Incumbent Republican contenders' spending, through December 11, is shown to be behind both Democratic candidates' spending at the moment, with David Perdue at $43.5 million and Kelly Loeffler at $47.6 million.

But as of December 18, the most recent consolidated polls from FiveThirtyEight.com have Perdue moving slightly ahead of Ossoff -- 48.9% to 48.1%. Loeffler has a narrower lead over Warnock, at 48.5% to 48.3%.

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Overall, Ossoff's total ad spending -- including the earlier primary and the general election -- totaled $126.5 million.

AdImpact says the average TV daytime political cost per point (CPP) in these races has climbed since before the election, in terms of buying viewers 35 and older.

This ranges from $500 for political candidates to $678 for political-issue advertisers for the week ending December 13. On November 1, just two days before the general election, the CPP was $300 for political candidates and around $100 for issue-oriented political advertisers.

For the week ending December 11, there were 19 political advertisers active in Atlanta, Georgia, totaling $38.6 million.

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