Allies of former President Donald Trump increased their ad spending after Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race for President.
Rebecca Noble/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
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Rebecca Noble/Getty Images/Getty Images North America
With polls showing former President Trump sliding behind Vice President Harris in several states, Trump allies are stepping up to try and make up ground, according to a new NPR ad data analysis provided in partnership with ad tracking firm AdImpact.
The Trump campaign and outside groups supporting him — calling it Team Trump — now outscore Team Harris in four of the seven swing states. This represents a sharp change from before the campaign when Biden dominated the airwaves.
Trump’s campaign said spending increases were always in the plan during the political convention. But the increase includes states like North Carolina, which previously leaned in Trump’s direction. Trump allies waited a little longer before Harris entered the race. Recent investments there show how things are going.
Pennsylvania was, by far, the state with the most significant ad spending last month totaling nearly $100 million. That number is 54% more than the next closest state, Michigan.
All inclusive, however, when considering national advertising and non-state specific digital advertising, Team Harris has outsped Team Trump in the past month, by more than $50 million, $246.3 million to $192 million.
That’s largely due to Harris’ spending during the Olympics as well as his online dominance. In digital, Team Harris has spent about $72 million compared to Trump’s $16 million. Younger voters are getting more information online, and are certainly a critical part of Harris’ potential base.
Overall, so far since the beginning of this presidential cycle, more than $1.6 billion has been spent on ads that have been launched or ordered through Election Day. Democrats have spent $882 million to $721 million from Republicans.
About $1.2 billion has been spent on advertising that has been launched with the parties split evenly.
Race to define Harris
Views were not solidified about Harris when he entered the race. So, perhaps it’s no surprise that the most ads they run are trying to define who they are.
In total, the top five ads aired last month were all about Harris and added up to nearly $100 million.
Democrats make gauzy ads focusing on biographies and cons
Fact check ads
At ads that have been aired the most – more than 45,000 times – from the Harris campaign and heavy in the background. It echoed her convention speech, describing her as a working-class upbringing, raised by her mother and showing her working at McDonald’s. It then pivots to health care and housing costs while criticizing Trump for tax cuts that are skewed to benefit the wealthy.
Advertising with the most money behind it – $ 25 million – is anti-Harris ad of the Trump-supporting super PAC, MAGA Inc. It attacked him on the record in dealing with illegal immigrants in the US during his time as a prosecutor.
But a power in advertising, when it has a kernel of truth, misleading. His office convicted Edwin Ramos, an MS-13 gang member, of killing a father and two sons. Ramos is currently serving three life sentences. Following a campaign promise, Harris did not seek the death penalty, the ruling conservatives have criticized it.
The ad also said Harris “let” Ramos “commit” other crimes before committing the murder. The truth about this is complicated. Ramos was pulled over for illegal tinted windows and no license plate. The passenger in the car, Erik Lopez, got out and ran. Police saw Lopez throw the gun into the gutter. Both of them were arrested. But Harris did not bring charges against Ramos because, as reported the San Francisco Chronicle per Harris’ office “there is no evidence that Ramos knew that Lopez had a gun.”
Despite his immigration status, Ramos was not turned over to federal authorities because of San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policy. But, at that time, Harris opposes the city’s policy do not turn over juveniles in the state illegally to federal authorities. Ironically, he will have to contend with criticism from the left about this in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
