Wisconsin: No Santorum Web Ads as Romney PAC Spends Big

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Restore Our Future, the Super PAC that's backing Mitt Romney, spent $100,000 on online ads opposing Rick Santorum in Wisconsin's GOP primary today. Santorum, however doesn't appear to be getting any paid online advertising support in the swing state from his Super PAC, or from his campaign itself.

Santorum's campaign team is relying on social media and its own digital properties rather than paid online advertising in Wisconsin. Some believe the state is Santorum's last chance to prove himself as a viable contender. Santorum Super PAC Red, White and Blue Fund, along with another independent supporter, have stuck with broadcast and newspaper ads.

"As far as Wisconsin, we haven't run digital paid media, but instead continue to maximize outreach through our owned channels [such as Facebook, Twitter, and RickSantorum.com], and subsequently, any earned media through word of mouth pass along, social reach, etc," stated Becky Mancuso, senior digital strategist at BrabenderCox, the firm handling digital media efforts for the campaign, in an email sent to ClickZ Politics today.

Newt Gingrich has online ad backing in all three of today's primary locales - Wisconsin, Maryland, and Washington D.C. - from Winning Freedom and Winning Our Future, both Super PACs that have bought ads to support his faltering GOP primary campaign. According to Federal Election Commission filings, more than $16,000 from Winning Freedom went towards Google ads yesterday supporting Gingrich in Maryland, along with around $1,000 worth of Microsoft ads targeting Wisconsin voters. The group also bought $2,500 in Google ads last month targeting Washington, D.C.

Gingrich also got online ad support in Wisconsin from Winning Our Future, which spent $12,500 with Intelimarc recently.