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The Blue Wave: Assessing Political Advertising Trends and Democratic Advantages in 2018

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2019

Erika Franklin Fowler ,
Michael M. Franz  and
Travis N. Ridout Open the ORCID record for Travis N. Ridout [Opens in a new window]
Erika Franklin Fowler
Affiliation:
Wesleyan University
Michael M. Franz
Affiliation:
Bowdoin College
Travis N. Ridout
Affiliation:
Washington State University
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Abstract

This research offers a post-mortem on political advertising in 2018, providing important context for 2018’s “blue wave.” In a majority of US House of Representatives races, there were more pro-Democratic than pro-Republican ads, including in the most competitive contests. The one theme that united pro-Democratic advertising was health care, which was mentioned in nearly three of every five Democratic ads in the fall campaign. Contrary to the narrative that television is declining, a record number of television ads aired in the 2018 midterms, whereas digital spending still constituted a small percentage of overall advertising spending for most candidate campaigns. Finally, there was a healthy volume of outside-group spending in 2018, with “dark-money” groups increasing their involvement—especially in support of Democratic candidates.

Type
Article
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 53 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 57 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2019 

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