Guys, remember this ad from GOP House candidate Kimberly Klacik?
Dana Loesch: This ad from GOP House candidate Kimberly Klacik is 'one of the best political ads of all time' https://t.co/nXGHQHqFOl
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 18, 2020
ICYMI, here it is again:
Democrats don’t want you to see this.
They’re scared that I’m exposing what life is like in Democrat run cities.
That’s why I’m running for Congress
Because All Black Lives Matter
Baltimore Matters
And black people don’t have to vote Democrat
Help us win https://t.co/CSOjc9aQlS pic.twitter.com/XnEDTaDDIG— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) August 17, 2020
And now for the dark side of being a longshot Republican candidate running to unseat an incumbent Dem in a heavily Dem district. . .
According to new reporting in the Washington Post and confirmation from Klacik herself, “nearly half” of the donations that came in thanks to that well-done ad were paid out in fundraising fees.
“I actually lost sleep over this,” Klacik told the Post:
New from me & @michaelscherer: Donors gave @kimKBaltimore more than $8M after her viral ad. A single firm took nearly half of it thanks to high fundraising fees. Donors had no way to know.
"I actually lost sleep over this,” she said.
— Meagan Flynn (@Meagan_Flynn) March 2, 2021
Here’s how the split worked:
Must-read by @michaelscherer and @Meagan_Flynn: Nearly half the money sent to MD candidate Kim Klacik after her viral ad went to the firms that made and promoted it https://t.co/h76MyZmorQ pic.twitter.com/3DEJRY9dV5
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) March 2, 2021
Klacik lost her race by more than 40 points:
By the end of Klacik’s campaign, she would raise a staggering $8.3 million and pay nearly $3.7 million of it to Olympic Media
Klacik, now a frequent Fox News and Newsmax commentator, lost to Mfume by more than 40 percentage points.https://t.co/kBaSra8rdk— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) March 3, 2021
According to Klacik, she wasn’t aware of the fee arrangement before making the ad and when she found out she “almost passed out”:
New: Republican donors beware. The vendor rake on small-dollar online campaign contributions can run at 70 percent or more. @kimKBaltimore found out the hard way how the game is played.
“When I saw it, I almost passed out,” she said.
W/ @Meagan_Flynn https://t.co/jM1SkemiIV
— michaelscherer (@michaelscherer) March 2, 2021
She “was never going to win her race” and the consultants cashed in:
Most people who observe politics knew that Klacik was never going to win her race even though she raised gobs of money. So for a lot of consultants and vendors, that meant a big payday unbeknownst to her.https://t.co/JQ4xF55eTv
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) March 2, 2021
Klacik did add a few tweets on the article, now calling it “misleading”:
Quick comment on the Wash Post article…
Arsenal & Olympic did a great job. Without both groups we would have never gone viral or raised millions. The article was misleading. The fees are from platforms like Facebook & Youtube that charge ridiculous fees to advertise.
— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) March 3, 2021
We unfortunately live in a time where Big Tech will make you or break you. As conservatives, you get no breaks, you pay those companies top dollar because they really don’t want to help you advertise. I am proud of the work my team did & don’t regret a single thing ??
— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) March 3, 2021
We need to keep this in mind as we head into 2022.
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