Abortion, economy, Trump: Here’s where Democrats and GOP are focusing midterm messaging
In the final stretch of the midterm election cycle, Democrats and Republicans have poured thousands of dollars into Facebook advertising campaigns to reach voters as both parties seek to gain control of Congress in November.
Democrats have spent millions of dollars on Facebook ads focusing on abortion access and reproductive rights in the months leading up to Election Day, beginning an ad blitz in June and gradually increasing their spending through November, according to data analyzed by Axios. Meanwhile, Republicans have focused their messaging on the economy and former President Donald Trump, as well as crime and public safety.
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Democrats began spending heavily on abortion messaging after the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, ending nationwide access to the procedure and returning its legality back to the states. Since then, the party has relied heavily on abortion messaging as a way to motivate voter turnout.
Neither party has spent much time focusing its messaging on President Joe Biden, with data from Bully Pulpit Interactive showing Republicans largely stopped buying Facebook ads criticizing the Biden administration in the early summer. Democrats have also distanced themselves from Biden in their midterm messaging, according to the data.
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The data analyzed were taken from Facebook ad spending reports by the three major Democratic committees, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as well as the three major Republican committees, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the National Republican Congressional Committee. The data were recorded from Jan. 1 to Oct. 8.
