“I can say unequivocally that Ted Cruz’s spending on Facebook is significantly more than it was last year,” said Kurt Luidhardt, vp and founder of The Prosper Group, which handles digital advertising for Cruz and specializes in providing digital advertising services for Republicans. “Facebook is where the eyeballs are,” he said.

Luidhardt and the Cruz campaign would not share details on Facebook spending, though the campaign’s own Federal Election Commission reports indicate continued dedication to using digital media and advertising even during what is typically a political off-season. Ted Cruz for Senate spent just over $681,000 this year with Prosper Group.

In April, Cruz declared his decision to no longer accept “woke money” from any corporate PAC, calling out firms including Coca-Cola and Boeing for left-wing virtue signaling. In an ironic twist, his self-imposed blockade on collecting donations from “woke corporations” is one reason his digital ad team is spending more on Facebook. The idea is to generate donations from “regular Americans, 25 bucks at a time,” said Luidhardt. “He’s an aggressive campaigner. He’s always looking to expand his base,” he added.

‘Metrics-driven’ Cruz reviews Facebook results

Facebook ad spending by the Cruz for Senate campaign began an upswing in March once the platform lifted its temporary ban on election-related ads from political advertisers, then Cruz ads kicked into higher gear in May, according to data from Pathmatics, which tracks ads served across the web and in closed environments like Facebook’s site and mobile app to a panel of hundreds of thousands of people.

Cruz spent an estimated $147,000 in May on the platform, up from $91,000 in April and $68,000 in March, per Pathmatics data. Spending by Cruz eased back in June to $91,000 on Facebook. The company estimates Cruz has spent $449,000 in total on Facebook this year.

Pathmatics has only seen ads from Cruz show up on Facebook this year. “We are not seeing any spending for Ted Cruz anywhere else,” said Sarah Fleishman, director of digital marketing at the company. Both data from Facebook and Pathmatics show the majority of Cruz ads are being targeted to people mainly in Texas, Florida and California, though they’re also appearing in other states including swing states such as Ohio.

“Facebook is still a great source for fundraising and building lists, so we have a lot of success there,” said Luidhardt, who said Cruz himself pays attention to the performance of his Facebook advertising. “He’s very …read more

Source:: Digiday