Obama and Democrats 2012 Ad Spend Tops $10 Million

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Online ad spending by President Obama's reelection campaign has reached over $8 million. When combined with web ad spending by the Democratic National Committee, the number tops the $10 million mark. By the end of January, GOP presidential candidates and the Republican National Committee together had spent just half that amount.

With all eyes on the Republicans as their early primaries got underway, the Obama camp spent $3 million on online advertising in January, according to Federal Election Commission reports analyzed by ClickZ Politics. An additional $115,000 has gone to Mobile Commons for text messages since 2011.

The DNC spent very little on web ads in January - around $24,000. In all the party has paid around $2 million for online advertising since the start of the 2012 election cycle, though it is unclear how much of that went to support Obama's reelection efforts. Nearly all OFA and DNC online ad buys have gone through Bully Pulpit Interactive, though the strategy behind those buys is determined by the campaign itself.

At the end of January, the GOP presidential hopefuls and the RNC had spent around $5 million on online ads, a mere half of the Obama/DNC budget. Mitt Romney leads the pack with around $3.5 million in online ad spending reported.

Throughout January, the president's campaign was present in GOP primary states with splashy ads aimed at voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. The ads touted job growth overseen by the administration, and suggested Obama stands with the American worker. Similar messaging can be seen currently across the web.

Also, as the Michigan primary approached, the campaign steered the message to auto workers through ads about the auto industry recovery aimed at Michigan voters last week as their February 28 primary approached.