Hillary Clinton speaks during a town hall style meeting in the gymnasium at the McConnell Center on Dec. 3, 2015, in Dover, N.H. | AP Photo Clinton super PAC won't spend more on primary

PHOENIX — Priorities USA Action, the main super PAC backing Hillary Clinton, doesn't plan to continue spending in the March Democratic primaries following the front-runner’s victories over Bernie Sanders on Tuesday night, the group’s chief strategist Guy Cecil told POLITICO on Wednesday.

The group intends to let its ongoing ad buy in Arizona — which will vote on March 22 — play out, but it will cease pumping resources into the upcoming Democratic primary contests after spending over $5 million in February and March, according to Federal Election Commission filings.


The PAC, which is the main vehicle for major donations in support of Clinton, did not originally intend to spend significantly on the primary. But that changed in the days after Sanders blew Clinton out in New Hampshire, with a $5 million effort focused primarily on building turnout among African-American and Hispanic voters. The group has invested roughly $140,000 on digital ads in Arizona — a state where Sanders’ team believes he can compete against Clinton -- but not in any other states with primaries or caucuses in the coming weeks.

The move to close the spigot on primary spending without specific plans to re-engage reflects a sense of confidence among Democrats aligned with Clinton about her prospects following wins in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois, and Missouri on Tuesday.

That message was being sent as early as Tuesday night, when Brad Woodhouse, the president of Correct The Record, another super PAC supporting Clinton, declared, “Hillary Clinton’s wins tonight effectively ended the Democratic nomination for president."

On Wednesday, the former secretary of state’s campaign manager Robby Mook went further, declaring in a memo, “The broad coalition of Democrats supporting Hillary Clinton has given her a nearly insurmountable lead in pledged delegates and we are confident that for the first time in our nation’s history, the Democratic Party will nominate a woman as their presidential nominee."

Priorities USA Action reported having roughly $45 million in cash on hand when it last filed a disclosure to the FEC in late February.

