FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Much of the back and forth in Kentucky’s governor’s race is playing out right now on TV screens. A lot of money is being spent to get everyday people interested in the race.
Medium Buying reports that between just TV, radio, and cable, a little over $12 million has been spent on campaign ads across Kentucky to date since the primary in May, pro-Beshear at $6.43 million and pro-Cameron at $5.96 million. However, pro-Beshear ad commitments, time that is reserved for future purchases by the campaigns, show that through November, the pro-Cameron side is being outspent 2 to 1. Pro-Beshear ad purchases and commitments from May through Election Day in November add up to $16.46 million, and pro-Cameron dollars add up to $8.75 million.
With it being an off year for elections, the national spotlight on Kentucky’s race is likely to continue to grow.
“You’ve got Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and Kentucky is really the main event,” Dan Bayens, co-founder of Medium Buying, told FOX 56. “Kentucky is by far the most amount of spending compared to the other two races. It’s a lot of money. It’s going to be more money spent on TV ads than we’ve ever seen in a general election in a gubernatorial race in Kentucky history.”
Bayens said the two campaigns are in two different stages of their media blitz. “I think the overriding dynamic so far is that Beshear got up early. He’s in a pretty advanced stage of his media campaign. Daniel Cameron has just gotten up on TV this month. He had Republican groups that were able to fill the vacuum for him over the summer,” Bayens said.
Bayens explained that there is a strategy to the ads people are seeing more and more frequently. Beshear began running ads right after the May primaries, first reintroducing himself to voters, and now appealing to election issues and responding to the attacks, for example, by releasing an ad where he states he denies gender reassignment surgery.
Cameron’s campaign has only released one ad in the general election, though it might feel like a lot more. Many of the attack ads people see don’t come from the campaigns but from the political groups backing them.
“So, you’ve got the DGA and the RGA both running ads, and then, you know, both Beshear and Cameron have other outside groups that have decided to play in this race too,” Bayens said.
“Defending Bluegrass Values” and “Bluegrass Freedom Action” are noteworthy examples and can be spotted by paying attention to the “paid for” information at the bottom of campaign ads.
Pro-Beshear ad commitments double pro-Cameron, but the current snapshot shows both sides have spent roughly the same amount from May through this week, about $6 million each. Bayens said despite this, Beshear has garnered more airtime because ads bought by the campaign cost less to rerun. He said it is an advantage, but a slim one.
“Just because you run more ads and spend more money doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to win,” Bayens said.
This is just a snapshot of on-air ad spending. Bayens said TV is where most of the ad money is spent, but what is not tracked by Medium Buying is digital ad spending, like what people see on websites and social media.
“Just because you run more ads and spend more money doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to win,” Bayens said.
This is just a snapshot of on-air ad spending, Bayens said TV is where most of the ad money is spent but what is not tracked by Medium Buying is the digital ad spending like what people see on web sites and social media.
