Political ads are back as an unavoidable part of everyday life in Pennsylvania. On television, they air in 30-second spots during sporting events, late night talk shows, newscasts, daytime soaps and nighttime dramas. While streaming shows or surfing the web, viewers see candidates from both major political parties and special interest groups take jabs at each other in a seemingly unending barrage.
They’re even on video game platforms. In Pennsylvania, considered a key swing state that could decide the 2024 presidential race, the volume of political ads is expected to continue through Election Day, just as it did in 2020. The Keystone State has been the target of the largest political spending over the past several weeks, according to data tracked by AdImpact and analyzed by the Wall Street Journal.
“The flood of ads this early in the campaign is pretty unique. You don’t usually see this kind of spending in August,” said Dan Mallinson, an associate professor of politics and public administration at Penn State University-Harrisburg. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that $42 million has been spent in Pennsylvania on political ads focusing on the presidential race since July 22, the day after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
It’s the highest level of spending in the country, far outpacing other swing states seen as a key in the race to win the White House. Pennsylvania, with its 19 electoral votes and tight voter registration margins, is viewed as a must-win state for the campaigns. Proof of the state’s importance can be seen in the gush of advertising dollars spent targeting Pennsylvania’s voters with more ads buys and campaign visits by the candidates in the last week with more expected in the near future.
Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled the Democrats new ticket last week during a campaign rally in Philadelphia. She and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are expected to appear in the Pittsburgh region Sunday as part of a preconvention swing through Pennsylvania.
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear at a campaign rally in eastern Pennsylvania this weekend, on the heels of running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s appearance this week in Lower Burrell. An Associated Press report this week said Harris’ campaign is expected to launch a $90 million ad blitz over the next three weeks, targeting the swing states including Pennsylvania.
The Trump-backed super PAC MAGA Inc. announced plans for a $100 million ad campaign over the next month in swing states, including Pennsylvania. AdImpact, as part of a report published last month before Biden’s withdrawal, projected $360 million would be spent on political advertising for the presidential race in Pennsylvania through November, outpacing the estimated spending of $299 million in Arizona, $244 million in Georgia, $233 million in Michigan, $211 million in Wisconsin, $175 million in Nevada and $172 million in North Carolina.
It predicted the presidential campaign will be the most expensive in history, with an estimate of more than $10.7 billion spent during the 2024 election cycle. It’s all part of effort for the Harris campaign to introduce her to voters and attempts by the Trump campaign to define the vice president, who until mid-July was not the focus of the presidential race.
“Neither campaign has the luxury of pacing themselves right now,” Duquesne University professor Kristen Coopie said. “This is really the second phase of the campaign, so that’s why there are so many ads right now. The saturation has been incredible but it is needed.
” And Pennsylvania is at the center of the political sprint to November. Trump won the state by just 40,000 votes in 2016. Biden carried Pennsylvania by about 80,000 four years ago.
It is expected to again be a close race in 2024. “It’s been so close over the last few elections that just a few thousand votes can mean the difference in Pennsylvania going red or blue,” Coopie said. Just how much impact the advertising dollars makes won’t be know until Election Day.
Shippensburg University political science professor Alison Dagnes said the massive amount of cash pulled in by the campaigns over the past month following Trump assassination attempt, Biden’s withdrawal from the race and the elevation of Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket created an environment for increased political spending. “The race has really changed. It’s neck-and-neck, and the campaign finances has led to a powerful situation where cash flow is in abundance.
That cash has to go somewhere,” Dagnes said. The money is being spent on traditional television advertising, but technological advances have allowed campaigns to place targeted ads on streaming services, video games and throughout the internet and social media. Dagnes said the campaigns have experimented with micro-targeting ads designed to for small, specific groups of potential voters.
As the traditional start of the final leg of the campaign approaches over the Labor Day holiday, the experts anticipate Pennsylvania will continue to see a proliferation of political ads. “It’s going to get significantly worse. It will be like a money cannon is turned on, and it’s a weird arms race,” Dagnes said.
.
