Elections

AFP launches $5.5 million ad buy

Ryan Lovelace Contributor
Font Size:

Americans for Prosperity, a non-profit political advocacy group, launched a $5.5 million ad buy in six states on Wednesday.

The ad, titled “Doing Fine,” highlights President Barack Obama’s claim that “the private sector’s doing fine,” and will run for ten days in Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

AFP President Tim Phillips said he acknowledges that the president did walk back his claim, but thinks the statement is “the most out-of-touch statement I think he’s said in a while.”

“His initial statement truly indicated his belief on the matter,” Phillips said during a Wednesday conference call with reporters.

Phillips said AFP has spent $20 million since last fall and expects to spend $100 million this year, up from $51 million last year.

And while Restore Our Future, a PAC that supports Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is running a similar ad, Phillips insists he has not seen the ad and is not coordinating with the PAC in anyway.

“This effort is not a party effort,” Phillips said. “We’ve seen Republicans make a lot of the same mistakes.”

Phillips indicated that AFP’s recent success has led the group to expand into new markets, such as Pennsylvania.

Phillips said he does not intend for AFP to disappear after the November elections, regardless of who wins.

“We’re gonna be doing this kind of thing in January 2013,” Phillips said.

Watch: