Ted Cruz takes 2016 campaign to the air with Easter-weekend TV buys

Sen Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) presidential campaign has purchased television advertising time for Easter Weekend 2015 on local affiliates and national cable networks, his campaign said, making him the first White House contender to hit the airwaves this cycle. Sen Cruz has reserved time during “Killing Jesus,” a documentary-style adaptation of Bill O’Reilly’s book that will run four times this weekend on Fox News. The program first aired on the National Geographic Channel, where it nabbed 3.7 million viewers. The campaign has also purchased ads statewide in the early-voting states of Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina during NBC’s “A.D.: The Bible Continues” on Easter Sunday. The ad will air once during that show. The ad purchases follow news that Sen Cruz raised $4 million in his first eight days as a candidate, a strong fundraising pace for a newly declared campaign. The haul was driven largely by small-dollar donations, with bundlers accounting for roughly one-third of the money. Sen Cruz’s campaign said it is spending about $33,000 on the ads.