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Economy Dominates; Wall Street, Health Care and Obama Prominent Themes in 2010 Federal Advertising

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Partisan Division: Dems Attack Wall Street and Wall Street Experience,
GOP (and especially IGs) Go After Health Care and Obama

(MIDDLETOWN, CT –) In the battle for control of Congress, economic references are far and away the most prominent theme mentioned in both Democratic and Republican advertising.   In particular, jobs are receiving the lion’s share of attention with nearly half of all Republican ads (46 percent) mentioning employment and well over a third of all Democratic ads doing the same (38 percent), followed closely by mentions of taxes (44 percent of GOP, 36 percent of Dem ads).  Beyond that, however, ads by or on behalf of major party candidates diverge in their attention to specific references.

***To view entire release as pdf, click here.
***To view tables, select a format: pdf xls or zipped xml

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Gubernatorial Advertising Up Dramatically This Year

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Overall Volume is Double 2006 Level; Outside Group Advertising Has Tripled;
California, Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio Inundated by Ads

(MIDDLETOWN, CT –) The volume of advertising in the 37 states holding gubernatorial races this November is up dramatically over the volume of advertising aired up to this point in 2006.   A Wesleyan Media Project analysis of gubernatorial race airings between September 1 and October 7, 2010, finds that almost 300,000 ads have been aired across the country in gubernatorial races, double the volume aired in 2006.  Candidates accounted for 72 percent of those ads, while parties accounted for another 16.2 percent.  Independent groups financed almost 12 percent of the ads, an increase from the 7.4 percent that they financed in 2006.

***For a pdf of the full release, click here.
***Table formats: pdf, xls, or zipped xml (note: xls and xml have more information).
***For a NEW TABLE of Top IG spenders in GOV races, select your format: pdf, xls, zipped xml

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A Brief Word on ‘Magic’ Words

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We took a quick look at magic word usage by interest groups in House and Senate races in 2008 and 2010 (1/1-10/5 in both cases).  The short story is that magic words are used far more often this year in House races (1 in every 3 IG ads, compared to 1 in 10 in 2008) … Read more

Negative Ads Prominent, Increasing in Number, but 2010 No More Negative than Previous Election Year

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Tone of Ads on the Airwaves in Top Races Keeps Pace with 2008;
Interest Groups Doing Heavy Lifting in Terms of Attacks

(MIDDLETOWN, CT –) The battle for control of Congress and key gubernatorial positions are filling the airwaves with negativity.  Just under half of the ads aired so far this year were pure positive ads.  Still, claims that 2010 is the most negative election to date may be premature.  In an analysis of close to 900,000 airings from January 1 to October 5, 2010, the Wesleyan Media Project finds that the distribution of positive, negative and contrast ads is comparable to 2008 in proportion, if not in volume.  The Project distinguishes between ads that focus primarily on attacking a candidate, ads that promote a candidate, and ads that include a promotional and attack message (termed contrast ads).  Compared to 2008, attack ad percentages remain constant, with only slight changes in positive and contrast ad percentages.

***To view entire press release as pdf, click here.
***Table formats: pdf or xls or zipped xml

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U.S. House and U.S. Senate advertising spending approaches $200M in last five weeks, $367M total since Jan 1

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Influx of Spending Indicates House is the True Battleground; IGs Spending Over $65 Million in Federal & Gov Races

(MIDDLETOWN, CT –) An estimated $198M has been spent on advertising in U.S. Senate and U.S. House races in the five weeks between 9/1 and 10/7.  With September as the traditional start to the general election season, the 75 percent increase in spending (from $113M during the same period in 2008) includes an 84 percent spending increase in U.S. Senate races and a 65 percent increase in U.S. House ads.

***View entire release as pdf, by clicking here.
***To view tables, click for pdf or XML formats (with additional data — be sure to download not open from the webpage).

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Over $219M spent on advertising in U.S. Senate and U.S. House races since Jan. 1

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Candidate and Interest Group Ad Volume, Spending Up Dramatically Over 2008; Party Spending Down; IGs Spending Over $100 Million in Federal & Gov Races

(MIDDLETOWN, CT –) As of Sept. 15, an estimated $220 million has been spent on political advertising in races for Congress, greatly exceeding the roughly $135 million spent in U.S. House and Senate elections at this point in 2008.  In the first election cycle following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Citizens United v. FEC, the airwaves are being saturated with more House and Senate advertising, up 20 percent and 79 percent respectively in total airings.  The increase in spending is driven primarily by a surge in spending on U.S. Senate seats, which more than doubled compared to 2008.  House spending is similar to 2008 due to increased airings in cheaper markets.

***View entire release as a pdf by clicking here.
***View all tables from release as pdf or XML (with additional data information).

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Wesleyan Media Project Launched

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Offers comprehensive, non-partisan tracking and analysis of major political ads (MIDDLETOWN, CT –) Wesleyan University is launching a non-partisan initiative designed to perform comprehensive tracking and analysis of federal and state political advertisements by candidates, parties and special interest groups. The project launches at the onset of a political election season poised to break advertising … Read more