Public File: Hanabusa Beefs up Spending on TV Ads
She’s still being outspent by the Schatz campaign, but the congresswoman will have a much more consistent presence on the airwaves.
Editor’s Note: [[Civil Beat]] is visiting local TV stations again this campaign season to track how much money is being spent on political candidates and issues. The Public File is a regular series that compiles records kept by network and cable stations in Honolulu showing ad buys made by campaigns and political committees. The records, which are required to be made public , are expected to be posted publicly on the stations’ websites beginning in July. But for now we’re still picking up paper copies, scanning them into our system and posting them online. Check out our Ad Watch series, too, in which Civil Beat political writers review the latest political spots airing on TV and the Internet.
The race for the Democratic Senate nomination is heating up with U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa spending $175,175 on 335 TV advertising spots running through the Aug. 9 primary election.
Last month a聽Civil Beat poll聽showed Hanabusa trailing her opponent, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. Hanabusa has since ramped up her purchases, spending nearly twice as much on ad buys聽in the聽next seven weeks as she did in聽May and June. She has spent a total of $265,875 on TV ads since May 19.
Hanabusa bought ad space on all major Hawaii television stations and on Oceanic Time Warner programming.
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, shown here in Civil Beat’s offices, has been more of a presence on the airwaves lately.
PF Bentley/Civil Beat
Her ads will appear during聽local news聽broadcasts on the largest Hawaii television stations, with her priciest聽ad being a single聽spot on KGMB’s telecast of聽“Hawaii 5-0” for $2,100.聽 She’s running ads every weekday in July on KHON’s 6 p.m.聽newscast at $1,300 per 30-second spot.
She still won’t be on TV as often as Schatz, who continues to spend big. He聽doled out聽a total of $284,645 on 1,017 spots running through the primary, including time on a “Hawaii 5-0” telecast. His more聽expensive spots include a $2,000 per ad airing on this week’s KHON’s 6 p.m. news.
The price will jump by $1,000 the week of the primary and Schatz has bought聽a few of those $3,000 spots on KHON’s 6 p.m. news. He is continuing to buy time during聽“Modern Family” on KITV at a cost of $1,500 a spot.
The , a non-profit group designed to promote pro-environmental legislation and聽the candidates that support聽climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, has spent $26,725 on 87 spots exclusively on KITV. They are set to air聽July 31聽to Aug. 13.
Its website says “LCV advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environment candidates who will champion our聽 priority issues.”
While the purchases are listed as “issue” buys, the League of Conservation Voters has聽 Schatz.
This week also saw the return to the airwaves of state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, who is running for the聽1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Hanabusa.
The last time Kim bought ad space on a major Hawaii television station was at the end of May. This聽week she bought one 30-second spot for $1,200 on KHON’s special broadcast of 聽a program that focuses on the history聽and cultural significance of聽one of Hawaii’s landmark聽places.
In the gubernatorial race,聽Gov. Neil Abercrombie聽spent $125,925 on聽174 spots聽that will聽air聽starting this week聽through July 20. Aside from several spots during聽KITV, KHON and聽KFVE newscasts, Abercrombie has also bought a spot聽during聽the broadcast of the Wimbledon tennis tournament on KITV.
State Sen. Clayton Hee continues to purchase ads to promote his run for lieutenant governor聽after his initial buys last week. Hee聽bought an additional 104 spots and spent $58,145 on ads聽airing on KITV, KGMB and KHON聽from June 23 to July 20.
