Political Ads & Polling Round Up: October 20

POLITICAL ADS

New Ads Stress Evers’ Response to COVID

Tony for Wisconsin announced a six-figure ad buy in media markets across Wisconsin. “Steady Leadership” promotes Gov. Evers’ leadership in tough times, getting support and supplies to families, farmers, and communities in need during COVID-19. The ad is part of an integrated paid media campaign in the Green Bay, La Crosse/Eau Claire, and Milwaukee media markets. 

The ad also slams Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature for failing to act during this pandemic. Republicans and their allies have repeatedly sued Gov. Evers and his administration to prevent his efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. Republicans in the Legislature have not passed a bill in more than 180 days.

“Republicans and their allies have failed to take this virus seriously from the beginning–they’ve consistently put politics before the health and safety of the people of our state,” Wallace continued. “We’re not just working to save the veto this November, we’re coming for Republican seats in the Legislature.”

DCCC Ad Claims Garbarino’s Record on Health Care Is Sickening

The DCCC began airing its second ad in New York’s Second Congressional District. “Served,” which highlights the contrast between Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Jackie Gordon and Andrew Garbarino, on New York City broadcast and cable. The ad follows the DCCC’s first ad “Another,” regarding Garbarino’s health care record.

RNC to Spend $25m On Tv Ads in Battleground States 

The Republican National Committee will spend $25 million on television ads in a battleground state advertising blitz beginning today and running for the final two weeks before Election Day, according to Fox News.

Approximately $14 million of the $25 million total will be spent on advertising targeted to seniors, with a focus on Medicare.

The RNC buy comes as part of a joint effort with the Trump campaign, totaling $55 million on paid advertising in the final two weeks. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien called it a “heavy buy,” and added that they are “confident as ever” in their “pathway to victory.”

Football and Biden

According to Politico, starting Oct. 26, Biden’s campaign will start running more 60-second ads during football games and many other shows.

Biden’s campaign announced Thursday that he had $432 million cash on hand and just 20 days to spend it. That prompted social media to light up with references to the ’80s comedy movie “Brewster’s Millions,” in which the protagonist has to spend millions in inheritance money in order to qualify for an even bigger inheritance. He spends the money by running for political office.

Biden Coming to a Gas Station Near You

The Democratic National Committee is rolling out a range of innovative advertising tactics “including aerial banners, gas station TVs, and messages chalked into city sidewalks” to reach voters where they are, highlight IWillVote.com and ensure Americans make their plan to vote. 

The ads — which will run in the battleground states of Nevada, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin — will appear in a range of unusual locations, including aerial banners, gas station TVs, and messages chalked into city sidewalks.

Polls

A poll by Change Research commissioned by MinnPost finds 49% of likely Minnesota voters support former Vice President Joe Biden, while 44% support President Donald Trump.

The poll also found that 48% of likely voters favor incumbent DFL Sen. Tina Smith, compared to 44% for her challenger, Republican former congressman and former conservative talk show host Jason Lewis, and 4% in favor of other candidates with 5% not sure. This also represents the closest these two candidates have been in a recent public poll.

This poll also found Minnesotans split on the pandemic. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (61%) said they had very or somewhat serious concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, while 39% said they had minor concerns or no concerns at all.

A Pew Research Center Poll found the public is about evenly split on whether the increased focus on issues of race and racial inequality in the country in the past three months will lead to major policy changes to address racial inequality (48% say it will and 51% say it will not). A sizable share (46%) say this will not lead to changes that will improve the lives of Black people. And while a majority say the heightened attention to racial issues represents a change in the way most Americans think about these issues, just 34% say this represents a major change.

Overall, 49% of U.S. adults now say the country hasn’t gone far enough when it comes to Black people having equal rights with White people, up from 45% in early 2019. Among Black Americans, an even larger share say this is the case today than did so in 2019 (86% vs. 78%). And while a majority of Hispanics (57%) now say the country hasn’t gone far enough in this regard, 48% said the same last year. Meanwhile, the views of White Americans are virtually unchanged.

ABC News/Washington Post Poll found 44% of respondents thought the current Senate should vote on her nomination while 52% said the vote should wait for the new Senate next year.

A new survey conducted by Indeed found Republican views of the economy have soured sharply over the past six months – even more than those of Democrats. The firm surveyed more than 4,000 adults aged 18 and over in late September, comparing the results to a survey of 2,000 adults in late February and early March just as the coronavirus pandemic began hitting the country. All respondents were classified according to the party they identify with or, in the case of independents or others, the party they lean toward. 

The share of Republicans saying economic conditions were excellent or good fell from 77% in March to 46% in September, a drop that far eclipsed the 42% to 24% decline among Democrats.

The percentage of people who said their own personal economic circumstances were either excellent or good actually increased from 55% in March to 58% in September, suggesting the proliferation of federal relief efforts may have mitigated some of the effects of the economic downturn.