Cruz outspending other senators on Facebook ads: report

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has spent more money on Facebook advertising than all but one of his Senate colleagues over the past two months, according to a Politico analysis of Facebook advertising disclosures.

Cruz has spent more than $240,000 on Facebook advertising since March, when the social media platform lifted its ban on political ads which was initially put in place around the general election.

The only sitting senator who has put more money into Facebook advertising, according to Politico, is Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who has spent $335,000 on ads.

Republicans say, according to Politico, that the fundraising strategy will help the two-term senator raise money online and build a list of email addresses of small-dollar donors.

The cash savings and donor list could benefit the Senator going into his 2024 reelection bid, especially after his 2018 election against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (R-Texas) stacked up as the second-most expensive race of the midterm cycle after Florida, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Additionally, the cash and email addresses could be helpful resources if Cruz decides to launch another bid for president in the future, which he previously said he hopes to do.

Cruz’s Facebook ad spending, however, far outpaces other potential 2024 GOP candidates: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has spent approximately $72,000; Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) spent around $44,000; and former Vice President Mike Pence’s Great America Committee PAC has only forked over about $42,000, according to Politico.

Scott is up for reelection next year in 2022 and Hawley in 2024.

In April, Cruz announced in an op-ed that he would stop accepting donations from any corporate political action committees. That same month, Cruz’s campaign announced that it had raised $5.3 million in the first quarter of 2021.

The Hill reached out to Cruz for comment.