Kamala Harris "beats" Donald Trump, at least in terms of advertising investments for the 2024 US elections. The Democrats have so far spent more, raising $1.39 billion to spend, compared to the Republicans' $1.03 billion. The numbers include spending by political action committees that operate independently of the campaign team. However, watch out for the final sprint, which can also change this ranking.
2024 US elections, along Trump's wall: the electoral race is played on the fate of migrants
States with the Most Investment
As revealed by data from the research agency AdImpact of CNN, since the end of July, $1.7 billion has been spent on advertising for the presidential elections in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada. The first state already includes the purchase of $58 million in advertising in the last weeks of the Trump campaign, $10 million more than Harris. In the other 43 states, spending has been much more minimal. Pennsylvania is the most controversial. The New York Times calculated that the average resident of the state has seen almost 1,400 ads since August. Candidates have purchased more than 470 million advertising spaces since July 22. That's almost $70 per voter. On the other hand, North Carolina is relatively behind compared to other swing states, with only $33 per target voter. In California, the state with the largest population, less than 20 cents per voter was invested until October 21. The total was $2.5 million. In Arizona, families watched on average 160 more ads for Democratic candidate Ruben Gallengo than for Republican Kari Lake. In Texas, where Senator Ted Cruz trailed Democratic challenger Colin Allred with 92 ad views per family.
Advertising Spots
Times Opinion analyzed data from 3.7 million political ads, aired on TV from August 1 to October 25. The New York Times combined these data with those provided by AdImpact and Comscore TV viewer estimates to calculate how many households saw each ad. Democratic campaigns and PACs (Political Action Committees) invested $213 million more in TV advertising from August to the end of October compared to their Republican opponents. The Democrats thus gained an advantage of 9.9 billion ad views nationwide. In terms of views: 11.8 billion for Kamala Harris compared to 8.5 billion for Donald Trump. Although her margins were small, Harris took the lead in ad views in five of the seven swing states. She achieved significant victories in less competitive states, outspending Trump nine to one in national ad purchases. UCLA political scientist Lynn Vavrek explained: "It's an arms race. If Harris bought 100 ads today in Philadelphia, Trump would want to counter it. That's why those poor people in Pennsylvania keep seeing more and more ads. You definitely don't want to concede the final game to your opponent."
Other Advertising
Harris also outspent Trump in radio advertising (six to one) and on Google and Meta (three to one). Additionally, the Democratic candidate purchased advertising space on the Las Vegas Sphere: a $2.3 billion technological installation inaugurated in 2023. Equipped with 580,000 square feet of LED screens capable of displaying advertising messages, it hosts a political ad for the first time from Thursday, October 31. The image of the vice president will be accompanied by the slogans "vote for freedom" and "vote for opportunity." The cost is around $450,000 and can reach up to $2 million on peak days. It is considered a strategic move in Nevada, one of the states that could prove decisive at the polls.
This article is automatically translated