The leading super PAC opposing Donald Trump is making a late advertising buy that signals it is more willing than initially thought to participate in the northeast primaries next Tuesday.
After taking criticism from at least one Trump rival for not engaging in the April 26 states, Our Principles PAC on Thursday began buying television time in Maryland, according to advertising records. The group has so far bought just shy of $300,000 in the state, mostly in the Baltimore media market.
Tim Miller, an adviser to the group, said it saw an opportunity to limit Trump’s delegate haul in the state’s third, fifth and seventh congressional districts. Most of the state’s delegates are awarded to the winner of each of the state’s districts. Trump is favored to win statewide.
The group has also begun advertising in Indiana, which votes May 3. It has so far dedicated $530,000 to the state.
Aides to John Kasich have expressed frustration that the anti-Trump super PACs, who spent significantly before the primaries in Iowa, Florida and Wisconsin, appeared to be sitting out the series of states where they say Kasich is most competitive. Kasich’s chief strategist, John Weaver, on Wednesday authored a memo offering guidance to the well-funded groups.
“Donald Trump’s win in New York got him closer to 1,237 delegates and if the #StopTrump movement is serious about stopping him, they should follow this roadmap leading up to the Tuesday, April 26th primaries,” Weaver wrote. “A serious effort in Maryland could cut the number of delegates Trump can win by almost half.”
Our Principles is also trying to influence the unbound delegates being elected in Pennsylvania, Miller said. The other main anti-Trump group, the Club for Growth, is spending its millions instead in Indiana.
