The Clinton campaign has asked any Florida television stations broadcasting the Weather Channel to delay their campaign ads until after Hurricane Matthew passes through the state.
“Earlier in the week we made changes to our TV ad reservations across hundreds of stations in several battleground states including Florida,” a statement from campaign spokesman Jesse Ferguson reads, according to NBC’s Monica Alba. “Less than 1% of those changes included the Weather Channel. We have requested that stations in Florida delay any of those ads on the Weather Channel until after the storm passes.”
The Clinton campaign this week purchased additional advertising time on numerous local cable stations, including some that carry the Weather Channel in Florida, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Before the Clinton campaign announced the temporary suspension of ads Wednesday afternoon, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) took to Twitter to urge both presidential campaigns to “be sensitive to all affected” by the hurricane.
The tweet linked to a Politico article that noted the Clinton campaign had bought air time in areas of the state “potentially in the path of Hurricane Matthew,” totaling $63,000 over five days, which would have covered the full duration of Matthew’s potential landfall.
The article quotes Ferguson, the Clinton spokesman, saying such spending shifts “were part of our regular updates to maximize efficiency, effectiveness and reach of our ad buy.”
