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CA governor Gavin Newsom speaking at event
2018 ElectionsReleases

TV Ad Volume Nearly Doubles Over Prior Midterm Cycle

Photo Gage Skidmore/Flickr Dark Money Up 26% over 2014; Over $40M in California for House, Senate, and Governor June 7, 2018 Report Highlights • Over 1 million ads (nearly $375 M) in congressional and gov races since Jan. 1, 2017 (Table 3) • Midterm ad volumes overall have nearly doubled over the previous midterm cycle (Table 3) • Nearly a quarter million ads costing over $70 million aired in states with primaries on June 5 (Table 1) • Summary of ad airings & spending in states with June 12 primaries (Table 2) • California Charter Schools Association Advocates tops list…
A wall of televisions and a remote control
2018 ElectionsReleases

TV Ad Volume Up 89 Percent Over 2014

Outside groups, mostly dark money, account for 1 in every 3 ads in House and Senate races May 7, 2018 Report Highlights • 2014 vs. 2018 midterm ad airing comparisons (Table 1) • Ad volumes/spending in statewide races with primaries May 8, 15, and 22 (Table 2 and Table 3) • Gov races see the most advertising with over 350,000 airings to date (Table 4) • House special elections in MT-1, GA-6, PA-18, SC-5 top the list with most ad airings (Table 5) • Conservative-leaning outside groups are very active (Table 6) • Dark money accounts for 3 in 5…
Nancy Pelosi speaking at a California Democrats state convention
2018 ElectionsReleases

Republicans Running Against Nancy Pelosi?
Just A Bit

Photo Gage Skidmore/Flickr Pelosi is the Most Targeted Congressional Leader in the Past Three Cycles (MIDDLETOWN, CT) April 9, 2018, with updates through June 4, 2018 - Along with many other aspects of campaign advertising, the Wesleyan Media Project has tracked mentions of prominent party leaders in political ads. More specifically, we have tracked references to Obama since 2010, mentions of congressional party leaders since 2012, and in 2016, we added references to both presidential nominees. Our coders also assess whether mentions of these political figures were favorable or unfavorable. By and large, between 2012 and 2016, congressional leaders were…
A stack of $100 bills
2018 ElectionsReleases

Illinois Governor Race Most Expensive of 2018 So Far

Groups Start Spending in Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin Senate Races March 15, 2018 Report Highlights • IL Gov race most expensive • Outside groups in Senate races -- IN, MO, WI top charts • PA-18 saw over 8,000 ad airings • 4 in 5 ads from House & Senate candidates have been positive • See our separate SPECIAL REPORT on guns in political ads (2010-2018) (MIDDLETOWN, CT) March 15, 2018 - Fewer than seven months remain before Americans will cast their ballots in federal and gubernatorial races, and spending on political ads is starting to ramp up. Up to now, the most…