Story highlights
An estimated $75,723,580 was spent -- unsuccessfully -- to halt Donald Trump's quest to be the GOP presidential nominee
In surviving a tumultuous Republican primary, Donald Trump also weathered nearly 64,000 television advertisements
The anti-Trump movement spent upwards of $75 million and lost.
In surviving a tumultuous Republican primary, Donald Trump also weathered nearly 64,000 television advertisements critical of him, according to data from the ad tracking firm Kantar Media/CMAG on Tuesday.
The ultimate bill: an estimated $75,723,580. That figure is for broadcast television alone, and does not include ad spending on cable and satellite television, which are harder to track and generally comprise a smaller portion of campaign ad spending.
The ads criticized his judgment, his temperament and his position on issues. They came from fellow Republicans, Democrats and outside groups dedicated to sinking his candidacy.
About one out of every four dollars against Trump came from Conservative Solutions PAC, a group supporting Marco Rubio’s candidacy.
One of their ads – titled “Serious” – ran nearly 4,000 times, more than any other spot critical of Trump. “We live in dangerous times,” the narrator begins, then questions whether Trump – as well as Sen. Ted Cruz, also a leading contender at the time – would be the right president.
RELATED: Donald Trump: Presumptive GOP nominee; Sanders takes Indiana
The super PAC supporting Jeb Bush spent the second-most against Trump – nearly $10 million – and two big dollar groups supporting Cruz pumped nearly $16 million into the effort.
The longest ad was a two-minute takedown of Trump’s most controversial statements by Bush’s campaign. “Turn Off Trump” ran ahead of the New Hampshire primary only 6 times.
The Kantar Media data showed Cruz’s campaign spent $4.3 million against Trump.
Trump’s most likely general election rival, Hillary Clinton, spent $5.2 million against Trump.
As the front-runner, Trump didn’t need paid ads to receive airtime.
He spent only $19 million on television ads over the course of the campaign – about a quarter of the effort to defeat him.