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2016 ElectionsReleases

Super PACs Dominate Airwaves

Outside Spending Groups Air Over 80 Percent of Ads in GOP Primaries, Almost All are Sponsored by Super PACs; Big gaps between advertising and polls: Pro-Bush ads more than double nearest GOP rival, Pro-Cruz ads are rare and Trump noticeably absent, Dark money fueling Rubio December 15, 2015 Report Highlights • Ad volume in 2015 compared to 2011, 2007 • Aggregate ad spending and airings • Candidate ad volume; Trump airs zero ads • Right to Rise is most active GOP outside group advertiser • Full-disclosure groups dominate • Ads are overwhelmingly positive to date • Boston/Manchester, NH and Iowa…
Wesleyan Media Project
December 15, 2015
2014 ElectionsBlogReleasesYear-End Summaries

2014 Election Studies Published

Evidence about the Involvement and Influence of Interest Group Advertising   (MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 6, 2015 – Two comprehensive studies of the campaign ad trends from the 2014 election have been published by the researchers from the Wesleyan Media Project, in addition to a piece on disclosure and campaign ads. "Political Advertising in 2014: The Year of the Outside Group,” by Erika Franklin Fowler and Travis Ridout, and “Interest Group Issue Appeals: Evidence of Issue Convergence in Senate and Presidential Elections, 2008-2014,” by Michael Franz appear in the most recent issue of The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary…
Wesleyan Media Project
February 6, 2015
2014 ElectionsReleases

Ad Spending Tops $1 Billion

Ad Spending Tops $1 Billion, Yet Ad Volume is Down From the Last Midterm Election Over 600,000 Ads Sponsored by Groups; Almost 40 Percent Dark Money   (MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 29, 2014 – Spending on television ads in federal and gubernatorial races in the 2013-14 election cycle has now topped $1 billion, with an estimated $1.19 billion spent from January 1, 2013 to October 23, 2014 (Table 1). That spending paid for over 2.2 million ad airings. Including other races into the totals—other statewide offices, state representatives, ballot measures and local offices—raises airings to 2.96 million at an estimated cost…
Wesleyan Media Project
October 29, 2014
2014 ElectionsReleases

Ad spending in 2014 elections poised to break $1 billion

Democrats Hold Slight Lead in Senate Advertising; Interest Groups Account for 40 Percent Senate Airings This Cycle, All-time High   (MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 14, 2014 – Just three weeks out from Election Day 2014, Democrats hold a very slight advantage in the most competitive Senate races. In 10 of the 15 Senate races with the highest volume of advertising, more ads favoring Democrats than ads favoring Republicans aired between September 26 and October 9 (Table 1). Table 1: Ad Volume and Spending in Top Senate Races Republicans continue to be more reliant on outside group advertising than Democrats. In 13…
Wesleyan Media Project
October 14, 2014