Marco Rubio is now the first Republican presidential candidate to buy television advertising time, according to one of his advisers.
The ads are a pre-buy in key states, which means the cost is significantly lower than if the time was purchased closer to when they will air.
The ads will not go on television until November, and will air in the early contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — all on broadcast networks.
The Rubio adviser would not say how much the campaign spent on this pre-buy except to say it is in the “many millions.”
This aide insists the early buy is not only a cost saving measure, but it shows that Rubio campaign has the resources to spend now, and that they’ve got their message and path figured out.
This first pre-book is just a floor, and that they plan to buy a lot more time as the 2016 contests get closer, the aide said.