Can a private citizen buy airtime and put out commericals for elections? Can groups buy airtime and put out commericals for elections? Do inidividuals or groups have to consult and/or receive permission from a canidate before they put out a commerical for that canidate?
Bump.
I’m going to assume that you don’t live in the United States, because the law that reforms campaign finance just came before the Supreme Court.
To answer your questions, it is possible for individuals and groups to buy airtime for campaign commercials, and in the US, it happens all the time.
To answer your last question, there are two kinds of ads. There is the candidate ad, which the campaign itself puts out (and which explains the need for campaigns to raise zillions of dollars) and there is the “issue” ad. These ads address specific issues and tries to persuade you to vote for the candidate who is for (or against) that issue or against the candidate who is for (or against) that issue.
Issue ads are produced and paid for by entities different from the campaigns, and don’t require candidate approval prior to being run.
Robin