Written by Henry Long
As the nation moves past the halfway point of 2023, spending for the 2024 Cycle is ramping up. In a political off-year like 2023, many political advertisements are placed by groups unaffiliated with a particular candidate or election. Instead, these advertisements center around particular issues like healthcare, energy, abortion, or technology. Throughout the first half of 2023, the nation saw $174M in issue-based advertisement spending, which represents 38% of all political advertisement spending during that period. For reference, in the Midterm election year 2022, the nation saw $1.4B in issue-based spending, which represented 18% of all political ad spending that year.
As of the end of June, Washington DC boasted $29.3M in issue spending, the most of any market in the US. Advertisers tend to target Washington D.C. with issue-based spending because they have the potential to influence lawmakers directly. The next largest market for issue-based spending was New York City with $8.9M.
Issue-based advertisers distributed their spending across several different media types. Across the first half of 2023, digital advertising represented 48% of issue-related spending with $83.1M. Cable was second at 28% with $48.4M, followed by broadcast at 20% with $34.6M, radio at 4% with $7.0M, and satellite at 0.4% with $0.7M.
In the first sixth months of the year, the top five national issue spenders were Better Medicare Alliance, PBM Accountability Project, American Petroleum Institute, Healthcare Education Project, and American Opportunity. The five issues that saw the most spending across the country were healthcare ($29.0M), clean energy ($11.1M), fundraising ($9.0M), gun control ($4.5M), and the economy ($3.5M).
The highest spending advertisers targeting healthcare were Better Medicare Alliance, PBM Accountability Project, and Healthcare Education Project. Better Medicare Alliance spent $13.4M on ads urging Congress not to cut Medicare Advantage, including a Super Bowl ad in February. Thus far, they have focused 40% ($4.5M) of their 2023 spending in Washington DC. PBM Accountability Project has spent $6.7M on ads urging Congress to hold pharmacy benefit managers accountable. The Healthcare Education Project has spent $6.1M on ads across the state of New York encouraging the New York legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul to invest in the state’s Medicaid program.
For clean energy issue spending, the American Petroleum Institute, Natural Allies, and the Growth Energy PAC are the top spending advertisers thus far. American Petroleum Institute spent $5.4M on ads highlighting their advancements in producing oil and natural gasses in a more environmentally friendly way. Natural Allies spent $2.4M on ads encouraging the use of natural gas as an energy source. Finally, Growth Energy PAC spent $845K on ads urging the Biden Administration to extend summer sales of E15 fuel.
Sandy Hook Promise, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, and Protect Illinois Communities led the nation in gun issue related spending. Sandy Hook Promise spent a total of $1.8M on digital ads asking Congress to pass additional gun control measures. Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund spent $1.3M on digital ads raising awareness about gun violence. Protect Illinois Communities spent $756K on ads across the state urging the Illinois legislature to pass the gun control measure in the Protect Illinois Communities Act. Democratic advertisers hold a strong advantage over Republicans in gun issue spending, contributing nearly 85% of spending.
Fundraising is a top priority in an off-year, especially leading up to a Presidential election. Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog organization, spent $817K on fundraising ads in the first half of 2023. Campaign for Democracy PAC, a PAC founded by California Governor Gavin Newsom, was second with $640K spent on fundraising ads. The American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal organization, spent $502K on fundraising ads. All three groups purchased exclusively digital ads. Between the two parties, Democratic advertisers held a $610K spending advantage.
The top three spenders surrounding economic issues were American Edge Project, The National Taxpayers Union, and Heritage Action for America. The American Edge Project was the highest spender by a significant margin, with $3.1M spent on ads in the Washington D.C. market urging Congress to take steps to support the American economy and embrace technological innovation. The National Taxpayers Union spent $235K on ads in the Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Salisbury, markets on ads urging Congress to cut spending and pass a debt ceiling deal. Republican groups dominated spending on the American economy issue, making up 99% of all spending surround the issue.
Issue-related advertisement spending will surely continue through the rest of this year. To learn more about the significance of issue ads and the impact of its messaging on elections, check out our comprehensive report about abortion messaging in the 2022 Midterms.
