Television advertising continues to play a crucial role in this year’s gubernatorial primaries.
Mike Lindell, the former CEO of MyPillow, was defeated in the Republican gubernatorial primary in Minnesota on Tuesday, despite receiving an endorsement from President Donald Trump. His campaign did not invest in TV or digital advertising, according to AdImpact, a company that monitors political ad spending.
Conversely, Minnesota state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who emerged victorious in the GOP primary, allocated $467,000 to TV and radio ads. She also benefited from an additional $2 million in outside spending on TV, radio, and digital ads.
In the neighboring state of Wisconsin, democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong is not meeting poll expectations in the Democratic gubernatorial primary due to minimal spending on traditional ads. Her campaign allocated around $100,000 for connected TV ads, such as streaming services, and $135,000 for digital ads. An outside group contributed an additional $219,000 for digital advertising on her behalf.
On the other hand, two outside groups supporting David Crowley, a late entrant, spent a combined total of $3.3 million, predominantly on TV ads, while Crowley’s campaign itself invested nearly $900,000, as reported by AdImpact.
Dominating the airwaves has been a successful approach for other gubernatorial candidates this election cycle. In Georgia, health care CEO Rick Jackson’s extensive spending of $92 million on ads led to his victory in a GOP primary and runoff. This expenditure was nearly triple that of his nearest competitor, Lt. Gov Burt Jones, who, like Lindell, had Trump’s endorsement.
