$600 Million in Campaign Ads for 2000 (posted August 28, 1999)

A new study by the Alliance for Better Campaigns, a D.C. non-profit group, predicts that political ad revenues for television stations in 2000 will hit $600 million, "a 41 percent jump over the last presidential year and a 20 percent increase over 1998." As of July 1, 1999, fundraising by presidential candidates totaled $103 million, while money raised by national party organizations hit $117 million. If past campaigns are any indication, look for presidential candidates to spend around 60 percent of their money on television ads.