Stop and think for a moment how much $400 Million will buy in September and October. How many mailers will that generate, how many issue ads, how many internet pop-ups, etc? They will practically own the TV, especially cable TV, commercial time in areas with competitive Senate and House races. With that much advertising, all those R’s and right leaning independents that aren’t excited about the current president will become motivated to vote against President Obama, President Clinton (both of them), President Pelosi, President Schumer, President Sanders, President Warren and the local ‘librul’ trying to destroy the country. I can almost guarantee they won’t mention Trump, Ryan, or McConnell in their ads, but instead will attempt to drag both local and national Democratic approval ratings to zero.
Coupled with what the Adelsons, Mercers, NRA, RNC, and like minded others will throw into this race, I would say we are looking at trying to overcome one billion dollars in negative poison-the-well advertising. And remember, thanks to the recent tax bill, all the Evangelical Churches can now freely spend money on campaigns and candidates … they will preach the evangelical equivalent of excommunication for any true believer that doesn’t vote and doesn’t vote the church’s way.
What will public opinion look like after that blitz? Tom Steyer turned off his money machine to Democrats. Do we have a group of sources willing to put up hundreds of millions to counter the semi-truths in those ads?
Let’s not get overconfident about November 2018, lots of work to do over the next nine months.