Study: Big GOP ad advantage in Pa races
Not only were there twice as many Toomey-Corbett ads as Sestak-Onorato ones last year -- according to a study from Wesleyan U -- but the gap between the ads for Toomey and those for Sestak was the biggest of any Senate race in the country. The gap in the governor's race was among the largest in the nation.
The ad totals for the gubernatorial and senate race in Pennsylvania are in, and according to a Wesleyan University study, the ads for Republicans Corbett and Toomey approximately doubled those which were supporting Democrats Onorato and Sestak.
The study combines advertisements from the campaigns themselves as well as from the controversial independent groups. The total cost for ads in the PA Senate race came in at just under $26 million and the final cost of the gubernatorial race was about $17.5 million. Only the ultra-tight Senate races in Colorado and Nevada had more money spent by independent groups, such as Karl Rove’s American Crossroads than Pennsylvania. About a quarter of the ads that ran in Pennsylvania for both Toomey and Sestak were financed by outside groups. Only 2% of ads run in the governor’s race were funded by outside groups.
. . . The gap between pro-Toomey and pro-Sestak ads was the largest of any Senate race in the nation. There were over 21,000 ads that Pennsylvania residents got to see or hear either promoting Pat Toomey or attacking Joe Sestak. Only about 11,700 ads were pro-Sestak. There was also a significant gap between Corbett and Onorato, almost 9,000. Only the gubernatorial races in California and Florida had bigger gaps between the GOP candidate and the Democrat. Both of those elections were largely self-financed by Meg Whitman and Rick Scott, respectively.
A copy of the study is below.
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