ELECTION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s campaign went on a massive spending blitz at the end of 2018 — a sharp increase in outlays, driven by midterm election rallies and digital advertising, that marks an unofficial kickoff to his 2020 reelection effort. Trump’s campaign spent $23 million in the last three months of the year, four times what it spent in previous quarters in 2018, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. The spending spree included major costs incurred for rallies and TV advertising as Trump campaigned for Republican candidates across the country in the midterms. But heavy spending continued in the weeks after the 2018 midterms concluded, with Trump and affiliated committees spending millions advertising on digital platforms as they rev up the president’s base for a fierce two-year reelection campaign. The filings highlight how Trump, who started fundraising for his reelection earlier than any other president in history, is operating a fully functional national political machine as his potential Democratic opponents just step foot on the campaign trail.”
–Maggie Severns, “Trump campaign spending erupts as president enters reelection mode,” Politico, January 31, 2019 11:27 pm