A new super PAC supporting Ted Cruz is beginning a $4 million television advertising campaign on his behalf, the most ambitious effort yet to back him independently in the 2016 race.
Stand for Truth, a group formed only six weeks ago, said Friday that it would begin $2 million TV campaigns in both Iowa and South Carolina in the coming weeks.
The little-known group, which has not yet disclosed its donors, does not immediately appear to have any ties to the umbrella network of super PACs, Keep the Promise, that have been blessed by the campaign.
Nevertheless, the outlay of $4 million is a significant pro-Cruz effort that will be more than any Keep the Promise group has spent so far on television. And it comes at a time when Cruz expects to be on the defensive, given his surge in Iowa that has invited attacks from nearly every other GOP hopeful in recent weeks.
“As one of the two frontrunners heading into the final weeks before voting begins, Senator Cruz is under attack from all directions and will be for the remainder of this election,” Eric Lycan, an attorney for the group, said in a statement. “Stand for Truth is here to make sure an accurate message reaches voters.”
The pro-Cruz effort began with small advertising buys on digital and radio platforms, while sharing nothing with reporters about how it fit into the larger pro-Cruz framework.
The Keep the Promise network has been reluctant to spend much money on television, only announcing 24 hours earlier, on Thursday evening, that it planned to make its first major foray into TV with a $700,000 purchase on the Iowa airwaves.
The $2.1 million buy in Iowa begins on Jan. 13 and the second $2.1 million in South Carolina begins on Jan. 27. Each runs through the election.