Cruz, 'super' PACs pummeled Trump on Iowa airwaves with ads

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has given a list of reasons for his second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, including a failure to invest in boosting voter-turnout and claiming that Ted Cruz "stole" the win.

[...] with voting fast approaching in New Hampshire, data from political advertising tracker Kantar Media reveal another possible explanation:

[...] while the billionaire has been stepping up his campaign ground game and events in New Hampshire, Trump appears to be giving other candidates the opportunity there — and in South Carolina, the following primary state — to make the same kind of political-advertising assault that ramped up in Iowa.

During the 10-day period leading up to the Feb. 1 caucus, seven of every 10 broadcast TV ad spots that mentioned Trump in Iowa either attacked him or compared him negatively to another candidate, according to an Associated Press analysis of broadcast television political ads.

The Our Principles PAC also bombarded Trump with more than $1.1 million in TV ads by largely using Trump's own words against him — including old interviews where he said he didn't like abortion but still considered himself pro-choice.