General Election Spending Analysis
This past Saturday, November 16th, Louisiana went back to the polls to decide the next Governor. While the jungle primary field was crowded, the general election came down to the incumbent Democrat John Bel Edwards and the Republican, Eddie Rispone. Much like the primary, the general election saw a great deal of spending from many different groups, including national outside groups. In total, $19.2M was spent on the general election, with $10M coming from Republican advertisers and $9.2M from Democratic advertisers.
GOP Advertisers
Like the jungle primary election, there were a multitude of Republican advertisers who spent big through Election Day. Eddie Rispone kept up his spending pace throughout the general election, spending $4.8M in total, with $4.5M on broadcast and $500K on cable. The Rispone Campaign was also active in a coordinated buy with the Republican Party of Louisiana where they spent $731K. Rispone’s campaign was bolstered by national outside group spending, too. After the primary election, President Trump’s Super PAC, the Make Louisiana Great Again PAC, entered the fray by spending $770K in total. RGA Right Direction PAC, another national outside group, continued their heavy spending from the primary by spending $3.5M in the general, $3.2M of which was spent on broadcast. Truth in Politics, a group that also spent in the primary, spent $48K during the general. Causeway Connections PAC and Louisiana Federation for Children Action Fund were both new advertisers during the general and spent $90K and $116K respectively.
DEM advertisers
Democratic advertisers were active in the general, but there were far fewer than on the Republican team. John Bel Edwards’ campaign spent $4.1M total in the general with $3.2M on broadcast and $545K on cable. Like Rispone, Bel Edwards was bolstered by outside group spending. Gumbo PAC, a Pro-Bel Edwards Super PAC, spent $4.6M, $3.8M on broadcast and $800K on cable. The only other Democratic advertiser to spend in the general was Restore Our Coast PAC, which pushed an Anti-Rispone message and spent a total of $417K.
