Huge, Late Surge In TV Campaign Ad Spending Stuns Industry Experts

CHICAGO (CBS) – Spending on political ads spiked in the final days of the campaign, surging to $2.8 million a day in November, TV industry sources say.

For TV watchers, the deluge of political ads was a lot more than they saw in the previous month, when average daily spending was around $1 million.

The spending caught the experts by surprise, with the late tsunami spent on state legislature races.

Sources say, House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton unleashed a boatload of cash to support Democrats.

And the Liberty Principles PAC run by radio host Dan Proft and funded businessman Richard Uihlein, spent heavily to support conservative Republicans.

Both sides waited until late in the campaign so their messages didn't get drowned by ads from the governor's race between Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker.