Team,

Campaigns are unpredictable – which is why here on Team Slotkin, we like to be prepared.

We recently got word that the cost of television ads is skyrocketing for the next few weeks. Our main goal with these emails is to keep you in the loop about what’s happening in Elissa’s race, which is why she broke down the ins and outs of how campaign ads work and why this is happening in an email yesterday. We’ve included it below to make sure you saw. 

This is definitely a speed bump in the race to the election – but luckily we’ve spent the last year preparing for things like this to happen in the last stretch of the campaign. Which is why we’re asking if you would send a few bucks our way as we continue to get Elissa’s message out to the new 7th district.

Team,

One of the most important parts of running a campaign is getting advertisements up on TV – especially in this election. In addition to our massive door-to-door efforts and our district events, they’re just about the best way to reach voters in our new district. Michigan still watches plenty of TV. 

So today I thought I’d give you a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at how exactly this part of the campaign works, and a recent development that has thrown a bit of a wrench into things.

We purchase TV advertisements directly from the television stations, who set their own prices. Pretty straightforward, but here’s where I’ll get into the weeds: in the 60 days leading up to the general election, by law TV stations must charge candidates the “Lowest Unit Rate” to advertise. That’s September 9th - November 8th. Essentially, that means that in the 60 days leading up to the election, stations are not allowed to charge candidates exorbitant rates to communicate with voters – even if demand for ad time is high.

But, this rule only applies to candidates themselves – not to any Super PAC or organization that might be running ads on their behalf. The outside organizations continue to pay market rates for advertisements – which increase as Election Day gets closer, and more and more entities are vying for a finite amount of TV time.

With the amount of spending we’ve seen in preparation for the fall, we estimate that market rates for those outside organizations could be *9 times* as expensive as the candidate rate. That’s why your money goes a lot further when you contribute directly to a campaign, rather than an organization.

Where things can get complicated is in the few weeks before that 60 day window begins. Before September 9th, stations can charge candidates whatever prices they want. I’ve had three campaign ads up on TV starting on July 5th (you can see them here). But now that we’re approaching that 60 day window, the price to keep those ads on the air has skyrocketed.

Last week, rates jumped THREE TIMES AS HIGH as they will be between September 9th and the election – all because television stations are capitalizing on being able to set their own prices in the next few weeks.

For a year and a half, I’ve stressed the importance of early money and how it allows us to be nimble in the event of unforeseen issues. And waking up to find out TV time has jumped to 3 times more expensive than it was yesterday is what we call an unforeseen issue. 

Because of the generosity of folks who have already donated, this is a change we can absorb. But it does force us to make changes in our budget. We're currently working to make up for the more expensive TV time, which is the principal reason I’m emailing you today. 

Any chance you’d be willing to chip in to help my ads stay on the air at the same frequency? That would help tremendously, as well as with any more curveballs between now and Election Day.