In other words, the Bush campaign will get its money back as long as Bush makes it to the general election. But even those candidates who do take federal money find ways of evading the accompanying restrictions. Bradley can subtract that percentage from the advertising he buys from each TV station. Another way to get around the cap is to pay for things in nearby states. With this technique in mind, some point suspiciously to the fact that last year Bradley allocated more than 100 times as much money in Illinois, which borders Iowa, as in Indiana, which does not.
Candidates go to even greater lengths to get around the spending caps in tiny New Hampshire.
Meanwhile McCain, presumably bumping up against spending caps in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, has recently started targeting New Hampshire voters with ads aired from Portland, Maine. Gore, who launched a Massachusetts-based ad blitz aimed at New Hampshire voters this past week, has also taken advantage of the loophole. And it doesn't stop there. In November, after an inquiry by the Bradley campaign, the FEC said that direct-mail costs didn't count toward the spending caps at all as long as materials were mailed 28 days before a state's primary. Iowa and New Hampshire were promptly deluged with such mailings.