Of those who favor limits, the vast majority — four out of five people — say presidential campaigns should last for one year or less, the poll indicates.
Democrats are most likely to want president campaign limitations, although most Republicans and independents want them, too. “Too long” was the most common answer poll respondents gave when asked to briefly describe Election 2016. “Long,” “crazy” and “bad” followed.
Trump supporters ‘increasingly engaged’
Election 2016 sure seemed to last forever.
But consider this: It took until mid-spring 2015 — about 27 months after President Barack Obama’s second inauguration — for political groups such as super PACs to collectively spend $1 million promoting or opposing the gaggle of Democrats and Republicans running to replace Obama.
Following Trump’s inauguration in January, political groups crossed the same spending threshold in a mere three-and-a-half months.
Driving Election 2020’s ultra-early spending are Great America PAC and Committee to Defend the President, a pair of “hybrid” super PACs that share the same treasurer, political consultant and election lawyer Dan Backer.
On Monday, the groups officially spent $1 million during Election 2020 on a variety of pro-Trump communications and related items ranging from TV, radio and digital advertisements to robocalls and direct mail to renting the email addresses of prospective supports and donors, FEC records show.
By Tuesday, that spending figure had ballooned to $1.32 million.
So, why?
“Our supporters demand we defend the president from day one, and that’s what we are doing,” said Ted Harvey, a former Colorado state senator and chairman of Committee to Defend the President.
But aren’t people sick of non-stop campaign ads?
“We haven’t heard that,” said Eric Beach, a longtime Republican political operative and co-chairman of Great America PAC. “In fact, Trump’s supporters — our community — is increasingly engaged given the nasty, vitriolic, unamerican attacks by liberals and unfair media coverage.”
Trump administration officials declined to comment on the groups’ pro-Trump spending sprees or the Trump campaign’s own activities this year.
Questions about spending by outside groups “should all be directed to the super PACs,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote in an email.
