Lack of TV Ads the Reason for Edwards Losing the Lead in Iowa

Over the weekend the Des Moines Register released a new poll that showed Hillary Clinton had surpassed John Edwards to take the lead in Iowa. Compared to results from May, Clinton had the largest gain in this poll, while Edwards had the largest decline. Barack Obama and Bill Richardson both stayed about the same.

At first thought was Clinton's TV ads most be resonating with voters. Then a neighbor asked me about Edwards and said they haven't heard much about him recently. That got me to thinking that Edwards has hardly spent anything on ads in Iowa, while Obama and Richardson have spent the most.

The lack of TV ads is the reason the Edwards campaign is giving for their drop in the polls...

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Sunday that his slip from the top spot in the Des Moines Register's latest poll can be attributed to his competitors' emphasis on television advertising.

"It's a little difficult to figure out where to go with me because I haven't spent any money on ads," said Edwards, a former North Carolina senator.

The latest Register poll of Iowans expected to participate in the state's Democratic presidential caucus showed Edwards at 23 percent, trailing New York Sen. Hillary Clinton by 6 percent. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was at 22 percent.

Edwards will have almost $1.5 million to spend on ads in Iowa because he has accepted public financing. So far he has spent $23,000 on ads in Iowa, while Obama has spent almost $3 million and Richardson and Clinton has spent over $1 million. The time to start spending some of that money is now or Edwards might become an afterthought in the race.