Trump, Harris, and their respective supporters have adjusted their advertising budgets in an October-oriented manner.
On the opposing side, Kamala Harris and her supporters persisted in funding ads focusing on taxes, character, and healthcare, while reducing their investment in advertisements highlighting abortion rights. The Democratic party has also sidestepped its initial focus on immigration and crime when Harris and her allies aimed to counter the persistent GOP attacks following her appointment to the role.
AdImpact, the ad tracking firm, chronicles the concerns discussed in broadcast TV campaign advertisements and monitors the financial backing behind these spots. Examining changes since August reveals how both campaigns are modifying their messages and the resources they allocate to these alterations.
Advertisements supporting Trump
From the beginning of October, Republican advertisers in the presidential race have inundated battleground states with a barrage of scathing attack ads, criticizing Harris for advocating for taxpayer-funded gender transition procedures for detained immigrants and federal prisoners – a stance she held during her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign.
These ads focused on transgender health care make up about 33% of all Republican broadcast TV advertising during the first two weeks of October, totaling approximately $21 million out of $66 million in total spending.
The prominence given to transgender policies marks a substantial shift in Republican advertising trends, as LGBTQ rights were omitted from GOP broadcast TV ads in August, and accounted for only 7.5% in September.
Economic issues have also been a significant component of Republican presidential advertising, however, with evolving points of emphasis.
Ads mentioning taxation, warning of potential Democratic tax increases, grew as a share of GOP broadcast TV spending, reaching 40%, and becoming the top-ranked issue in the first two weeks of October – rising from 2% in August, and less than 1% in September. Meanwhile, inflation decreased as a share of GOP TV ad spending – falling from 40% in September to 18% in the first two weeks of October.
Immigration and crime, frequently merged in Republican advertisements, have been notable themes throughout the campaign, however, the emphasis on these topics has waned overtime.
In August, immigration was the leading issue in advertising by Trump and his allies, drawing about 69% of GOP broadcast TV spending, while crime ranked second, accounting for approximately 55% of Republican broadcast ad dollars.
In September, both issues still ranked among the top five, with crime the leading issue, though ad spending on immigration decreased to 35%, and crime to 44%.
In the first two weeks of October, immigration and crime continue to rank in the top five, but their share of total ad spending has declined further – to 17% for immigration and 27% for crime.
Harris' campaign ads
Harris and her allies have adopted some strategic adjustments to the content of their broadcast TV advertising.
In the first two weeks of October, tax policy emerged as the top issue, as spots discussing taxation attracted about half of all broadcast TV ad spending, amounting to nearly $47 million out of a total of approximately $95 million. Since the start of her presidential campaign, taxation has consistently been a point of emphasis in Democratic presidential advertising, forming part of a two-pronged strategy – emphasizing Harris’ tax policies intended to benefit working and middle-class families, while critiquing and denouncing Trump's tax cuts for corporations and high-income earners.
In August, taxation ranked as the fifth issue for Democrats in their broadcast TV advertising, accounting for about 25% of presidential spending. In September, this increased to 51%, and stayed at 49% in the first two weeks of October.
Meanwhile, abortion, which democratic ads for congressional races have emphasized significantly, remained a substantial component of Harris and her allies' broadcast TV advertising, although it showed a noticeable decrease during the first two weeks of October.
In August, advertisements referencing abortion rights accounted for about a third of all Democratic broadcast TV advertising in the presidential race, making it the leading issue. In September, this share was approximately the same, 32%, including spending on a Harris campaign ad about IVF treatments, which does not expressly mention abortion. In the first two weeks of October, advertisements about abortion rights, including the IVF spot, represented about 12% of Democratic broadcast TV advertising.
In terms of dollar amounts, this marked a decline from over $78 million combined across both August and September, to approximately $11 million in the two-week October period.
Character, with Democrats consistently airing waves of ads questioning Trump's competence, and healthcare, featuring multiple spots highlighting the Biden administration's efforts to lower prescription drug costs, protect Obamacare, and expand Medicare coverage, are among the top issues in Democratic presidential advertising on broadcast TV.
Harris and her allies have mainly abandoned their early initiative, implemented in the weeks immediately following her assignment to the top of the Democratic ticket, to counter GOP attacks on immigration and crime. In August, ads about crime, often focusing on Harris' background in law enforcement as a former district attorney and state attorney general, accounted for about 29% of Democratic broadcast TV advertising, while spots about immigration attracted 11%. In September, both issues fell below 3%, and this trend continued in the first two weeks of October, with neither issue drawing more than 2% of the total spending.
Campaign ad classification by AdImpact identifies the attitude of broadcast TV campaign ads as either "encouraging," "criticizing," or "showcasing divergences," aiming to underline policy distinctions between contenders.
The analysis reveals that the Trump campaign and its associates are implementing a predominantly "criticizing" advertising strategy.
In regards to a total $66 million spent by Republican advertisers on broadcast TV for the initial two weeks of October's presidential race, around 80% was allocated to "criticizing" ads, approximately 20% to "showcasing divergences" ads, and zero funds were spent on "encouraging" ads.
On the flip side, the data shows a more balanced approach adopted by the Harris campaign and its allies. In the same period, approximately $95 million was invested by Democratic advertisers on broadcast TV. Around 58% of this budget was allocated to "showcasing divergences" ads, around 23% to "criticizing" ads, while roughly 19% was translated into "encouraging" ads.
In response to the GOP's assault on Harris' stance on transgender healthcare, her supporters increased the focus on attacking Republican taxation policies, warning of potential Democratic tax increases, which became the top-ranked issue in Republican broadcast TV ads in the first two weeks of October.
Despite reducing their investment in advertisements highlighting abortion rights, tax policy, character, and healthcare remain significant issues in Kamala Harris' campaign ads, attracting about half of all broadcast TV ad spending for her and her allies, amounting to nearly $47 million in the first two weeks of October.
