Groups spend millions bypassing TV, radio
WASHINGTON -- As the presidential campaign heads into its final days, hundreds of workers are knocking on doors and calling voters in Wisconsin, trying to persuade them to vote for Democrat Barack Obama.
They don't work for the Obama campaign. They're hired by Advancing Wisconsin, a new liberal group that has reported spending more than $550,000 this month in support of Obama. None of that money has gone for radio or TV ads.
"We leave that to other people," says Mike Tate, founder of Advancing Wisconsin. "We think what's an effective tool is going out and knocking on people's doors and talking to people."
Although political radio and TV ads get the most attention, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that independent political groups are spending millions of dollars in the presidential campaign on canvassing, direct mail, live and automated phone calls, e-mails and text messages.
Independent groups spent more than $13.4 million on those activities in support or opposition to Obama or Republican John McCain from Sept. 5, when the political conventions ended, through Tuesday, a USA TODAY analysis of FEC records shows.
That spending heavily favors Obama: $9.1 million went for activities helping Obama and $4.3 million for McCain, the analysis shows.
Much of that advantage is thanks to the Service Employees International Union, which poured more than $4.8 million into door-to-door canvassing since the conventions, FEC records show. Anna Burger, SEIU's secretary-treasurer, said the union has "thousands of members (knocking) on the doors."
One of McCain's biggest supporters is the National Right to Life Political Action Committee, which spent more than $1.2 million on pro-McCain mailings. "Millions upon millions of unborn babies will die if Barack Obama is elected president," the group's website says.
Independent groups are turning away from broadcast ads because they're expensive and don't necessarily reach the target audience, Democratic political consultant Marty Stone says.
