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Senate, House Race TV Advertising Spike as Presidential Ads Wane

(3/14/24) Advertising in the presidential race has turned to a trickle as Joe Biden and Donald Trump have all-but-secured their parties’ nominations for president, but House and Senate races have seen record volumes of advertising.

 

Advertising in Presidential Race Takes a Nosedive after New Hampshire

(2/16/24) The volume of television advertising in the 2024 presidential race has fallen dramatically since the January 23 New Hampshire primary. In the weeks since New Hampshire, candidates and the groups and parties supporting them have spent only $2.6 million on under 8,000 ad airings on broadcast television stations.

 

Heavy Spending by GOP in Iowa, including Trump

(1/11/24) Donald Trump may not be at the Republican presidential debates, but he is not conceding the airwaves in Iowa or New Hampshire, a new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project shows.

 

Political Advertising in Presidential Elections: Assessing the Battleground

(10/25/23) Are digital ads squeezing out the appetite for television ads? Is the battleground more narrow today than in prior years, perhaps shrinking as the country has polarized politically?

 

New Studies Published on Television and Digital Advertising in the 2022 Midterms

(2/22/2023) New research published by the Wesleyan Media Project provides two summaries of political advertising activity in the 2022 midterms.

 

4.3M TV Ads with Spending Nearing $3B

(11/3/22) An estimated $2.71 billion has been spent in federal and gubernatorial races on broadcast television advertising this election cycle, according to a new analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

 

Advertising Issue Spotlight (10/1/22 – 10/31/22)

(11/2/2022) October overview of issue mentions in federal races by state.

 

Congressional Leadership Fund Targets 42 House Races

(10/20/22) Outside group advertising on television in federal races is breaking records, according to a new analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

 

Democrats Out-Pacing GOP in Senate Races

(10/6/22) Democrats are out-airing their Republican opponents in nine of the top 10 Senates races, according to a new report from the Wesleyan Media Project.

 

DeSantis Dominates FL Gov Advertising

(9/22/22) As the traditional general election period of the 2022 midterms kicks into gear, Republican incumbent Ron DeSantis has a commanding lead over his Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist, in both television ads aired and online ad spending, according to a new report from the Wesleyan Media Project.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

 

Democrats Spend Heavily in Senate Races

(9/8/22) Democratic candidates are spending heavily on broadcast television advertising in U.S. Senate races, according to a new report from the Wesleyan Media Project.

 

Two Million TV Ads So Far in the 2022 Midterm Elections

(8/11/22) Over two million ads (at a cost of nearly one billion dollars) have aired on broadcast television in federal and gubernatorial races across the country between January 6, 2021, and August 7, 2022, according to a new report by the Wesleyan Media Project.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

 

2022 Midterm TV Ad Volume Off to a Record Start

(6/23/22) Driven by competitive primaries for U.S. Senate seats and gubernatorial races, the volume of advertising on television so far in the 2022 midterms is shattering records, according to a new report by the Wesleyan Media Project.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

 

Abortion Mentions Climb After SCOTUS Draft Opinion

(5/12/22) WMP finds mentions of abortion in televised political advertising have risen in the wake of the leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Photo: GBlakeley/iStock

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Year End Summaries

Summary posts giving an overview of campaign ads for each election cycle going back to 2010.

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Research

Find publications by the Wesleyan Media Project, WMP members, or affiliated institutions.

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Delta Lab

Computational analysis of political advertising and media with student learning as a central focus.

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Since its founding in 2010, the Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) has become the “go to” source for real-time, non-partisan information on the volume, spending, sponsorship and content of political advertising across the United States.

Our goals are to track all election-related advertising by source (group, corporation, union, party, or candidate) and to provide comparative analysis enhancing the ability of journalists, citizens and scholars to hold governments and special interests accountable.

See our latest report here, or read our year-end summaries of campaign advertising in the 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections.

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