2018 Elections

10% of Dems Digital Ads Mention ACA and Republican Health Bills; Robert Mueller a non-Issue (MIDDLETOWN, CT) November 1, 2018 - The Wesleyan Media Project has previously reported on digital spending in federal races this cycle. In this report, we show the frequency of issue mentions in TV and Facebook ads for the general election nominees in the twelve most competitive Senate races. Almost 35 percent of the Facebook ads placed by Republican Senate candidates in 12 competitive contests mention Donald Trump, compared to 17 percent of the ads placed by those same candidates on television. Table 1 shows the…

Photo Gage Skidmore/Flickr Record-Breaking Number of Ads; More Democratic Dark Money (MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 30, 2018 - As we reach the final week of the 2018 midterm election, an analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project finds that television advertising in federal races is setting new records in volume—and in the volume of negative ads, thanks in part to the large number of competitive races across the country. While the proportion of negative advertising in the post-Labor Day general election period (Sept. 4–Oct. 25) is not actually record-breaking, this election season feels exceptionally negative to many viewers because the sheer number…

Photo Gage Skidmore/Flickr O’Rourke leads all candidates with over $5.5 million in digital ads; Politicians hint at presidential runs with digital spending (MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 18, 2018 - The Wesleyan Media Project’s latest analysis compares television ad spending with digital ad spending in Senate campaigns and competitive House races. Television estimates come from Kantar/CMAG, Facebook estimates come from Pathmatics, while Google spending comes from the company’s Transparency Report website. The analysis covers the period between May 31, when Google’s online archive of political advertising became available, and October 15. The analysis is not a comprehensive accounting of digital advertising, as…