Ad of the week: Surprised?

Gretchen Whitmer is closing out strong in Michigan. She’s been consistently leading the polls for months now, and in the final stretch her campaign is hammering in the major points they’ve been driving all year: education, low taxes, and bipartisanship. Our particular favorite is this pithy six-second spot:

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Josh Shapiro, who spent $568,974.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Texas, where candidates spent a combined $782,570 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $1,787,286 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $1,053,133.

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Ad of the week: Averigüe como votar por Josh Shapiro

Democrat Josh Shapiro may be running way ahead of his GOP opponent in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race, but his campaign doesn’t seem to be taking any votes for granted. They just rolled out an ad campaign using a pretty underutilized tactic: letting supporters cut their own ads. These new ads are running in both English and Spanish and are mostly targeted at Millennials in PA.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Greg Abbott, who spent $651,313.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Texas, where candidates spent a combined $1,065,738 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $1,921,841 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $1,001,261.

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Ad of the week: ¡Familia, todos con Kari!

It’s always kind of awkward and clunky when candidates with less-than-perfect Spanish try to speak it in their Latino outreach ads. Arizona Republican candidate Kari Lake, however, handles that problem deftly admitting her poor skills and leaning on Mexican movie and telenovela star Eduardo Verástegui to carry her message for her.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Beto O’Rourke, who spent $640,137.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Texas, where candidates spent a combined $972,736 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $1,859,884 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $742,514.

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Ad of the week: ¡Dile no a Joe!

Steve Sisolak upped his Meta ad spending last week with a new bilingual campaign that’s running on three messaging tracks: one attacks Republican Joe Lombardo’s stance on abortion; the second attacks Lombardo for cutting 112 Clark County police department jobs; and the main track consists of witty six-second ads with a very simple message: “If anyone tries to raise taxes on Nevada families, you know my answer: NO.” FWIW, all of these ads are targeted at Nevadans aged 35 and up.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Beto O’Rourke, who spent $856,551.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Texas, where candidates spent a combined $1,124,492 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $2,035,079 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $659,782.

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Ad of the week: Josh got game, too.

In a new 15-second GOTV ad, Josh Shapiro leans on testimony from a Philadelphia community basketball leader who endorses Shapiro’s commitment to ending gun violence and supporting public schools. The ad also shows a fun side of Shapiro - check it out:

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Beto O’Rourke, who spent $664,248.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Texas, where candidates spent a combined $978,812 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $1,748,084 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $671,204.

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Ad of the week: Beto is our best bet

Democrat Beto O’Rourke has been investing very, very heavily in digital ads in recent weeks, spending $1.3 million on Meta + Google ads in the past two months. Most recently, he’s launched a bilingual ad campaign on a variety of fronts, particularly on abortion and education. On the latter issue, he’s highlighting how poorly funded and uniquely dangerous Texas’s schools are, and he’s targeting these ads at young adults. He may be trying to reach frustrated new parents, burnt-out new teachers, or bitter high school grads - whatever the case is, his digital ad team appears to be working smarter and harder.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Beto O’Rourke, who spent $297,420.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Texas, where candidates spent a combined $621,768 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $1,246,608 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $704,002.

The below data is displayed as combined Meta + Google ad spend for the week of 9/18 - 9/24. For breakouts of platform-specific spending numbers by week, click here

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Ad of the week: This is a free country

Beto O’Rourke has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each week on digital ads for months now, but last week he nearly doubled his digital ad spending in part to attack Gov. Greg Abbott over his extreme abortion law. O’Rourke’s new ad features a lifelong Democrat and a lifelong Republican decrying the law as arcane and anti-freedom. Check it out:

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $297,420.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Texas, where candidates spent a combined $423,882 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $1,146,028 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $624,384.

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Ad of the week: The DiXon Files

The Michigan Democratic Party this week launched a new video series called “The DiXon Files,” which apparently seeks to attack Republican Tudor Dixon for being an election denier and a “DeVos sellout.” Check out their first video:

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $342,668.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Florida, where candidates spent a combined $365,796 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $801,849 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $418,158.

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Ad of the week: DeVos-backed Dixon

Gretchen Whitmer has launched a major digital oppo ad campaign against her GOP opponent, Tudor Dixon, attacking her over her statements on abortion and her campaign’s ties to the DeVos family. We’ll note that while Betsy DeVos is infamous nationwide for her role as Trump’s secretary of education, the uber-wealthy family itself has been well known in Michigan long before 2016, so it’s smart of them to try to fundraise off their infamy.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Josh Shapiro, who spent $284,893.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Georgia, where candidates spent a combined $301,995 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $752,842 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $240,244.

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Ad of the week: Putting kids first

Gov. Steve Sisolak has spent $120k on digital ads over the past month with a largely kid-focused campaign. Most recently, Team Sisolak has started rolling out quick, six-second ads that each highlight one key plank of his re-elect message, which includes raising teacher salaries, new schools, new affordable housing, free school lunches, new school security funding, and abortion rights. These ads almost all target Nevadans over 35, and are running in both English and Spanish.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Josh Shapiro, who spent $232,431.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Georgia, where candidates spent a combined $272,363 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $661,202 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $258,028.

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Ad of the week: Gab

Last month, it was found out that Republican candidate for governor Doug Mastriano helped start up Gab, a white supremacist social media platform. Now, Josh Shapiro is exploiting that fact with a new slate of YouTube ads to drive home to Pennsylvanians how uniquely extreme Mastriano is.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Stacey Abrams, who spent $229,743.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Georgia, where candidates spent a combined $272,972 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $614,929 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $244,780.

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Ad of the week: Radical Tim Michels

Just days after Trump-endorsed perennial candidate Tim Michels won the GOP nomination for governor, Tony Evers rolled out a digital ad campaign making it clear how extreme the Republican is on issues like guns, abortion, education, and gay rights.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $231,739.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Georgia, where candidates spent a combined $270,705 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $415,655 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $266,178.

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Ad of the week: Deliver

This week, Stacey Abrams launched a major Instagram ad campaign promoting her plan for “One Georgia.” The campaign clearly seeks to reach a wide audience, as it prominently features her connections to a wide variety of Georgians, including Black men, Korean residents, the state’s first openly gay state legislator, and others, and it also highlights her bipartisan economic record. MAJOR props for running a slick Korean ad, to boot!

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Stacey Abrams, who spent $197,678.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Georgia, where candidates spent a combined $246,152 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $403,311 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $247,276.

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Ad of the week: One Georgia

Stacey Abrams is the single biggest investor in digital ads among gubernatorial candidates not also planning a ‘24 presidential run, in large part thanks to One Georgia, a fundraising committee Abrams formed earlier this year. Now, they’re using the page to attack Gov. Brian Kemp’s policies. One even attempts to undermine the Republican’s messaging around public safety using testimony from a former deputy sheriff and calling back to Kemp’s infamous points-gun-at-child ad from 2018. All told, the page accounted for nearly two-thirds of Abrams’ $205k digital ad spend last week.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $244,329.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Florida, where candidates spent a combined $255,293 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $470,620 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $306,614.

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Ad of the week: We’re tough.

Last week, Gretchen Whitmer made her biggest digital ad buy of the year so far, dropping over $62k, mostly on Meta ads. The bulk of that spend is going toward one ad in particular that highlights her administration’s achievements on education:

The last few years have been tough, but we didn’t stop. We made childcare more affordable, invested in education, got kids back in class, and didn’t raise taxes. Yes, it’s been tough. But we’re tough.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $211,041.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Florida, where candidates spent a combined $217,595 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $305,860 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $264,685.

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Ad of the week: How we keep Nevada moving

Last week, incumbent Democratic governor Steve Sisolak made his biggest digital ad buy of the year so far on YouTube. He’s pushing a positive message that seems to be talking to parents (the ads target Nevadans aged 35 and up) struggling in the current economy, focusing on new housing, safer schools, free community college, and no new taxes. Check it out:

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $220,109.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Florida, where candidates spent a combined $229,774 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $201,596 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $258,920.

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Ad of the week: FAKE LAKE

In one of the most perplexing ads of the cycle so far, a group called American Focus PAC tried to tap into the latest trans panic wave by paying a drag queen to say that Kari Lake is secretly a liberal who loves drag. It’s an ad you’ll just have to see for yourself:

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $249,519.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Florida, where candidates spent a combined $307,666 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $221,753 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $239,488.

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Ad of the week: My pronouns: Conservative/Patriot

Like many other open GOP primaries across the country, the Michigan gubernatorial primary is a reactionary race to the far-right. The latest entry in this messy saga comes from Garrett Soldano, who cut a trans panic ad but gave us another excellent example of Republicans mocking minorities but making a complete fool of themselves in the process. In the ad, which uses Fox News articles to fearmonger about trans people in public schools, Soldano argues that “I don’t co-parent with the government. My pronouns: conservative, patriot…As governor, I’ll make Michigan the parents’ rights capital of America, and transition Gretchen Whitmer out of office.” The ad also featured dangerous transphobic rhetoric that we won’t repeat here.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $190,771.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Florida, where candidates spent a combined $211,158 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $210,330 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $215,908.

The below data is displayed as combined Meta + Google ad spend for the week of 6/26 - 7/2. For breakouts of platform-specific spending numbers by week, click here.

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Ad of the week: Keep abortion legal in PA

The very same day that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign immediately moved to tie the threat to abortion rights to his opponent. They’ve spent at least $7k on this short, simple ad which targets the Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, Scranton, and Harrisburg areas.

Quick facts:

• The top spending gubernatorial candidate on digital ads last week was Ron DeSantis, who spent $62,275.

• The state with the most expensive gubernatorial race online last week was Florida, where candidates spent a combined $73,136 on Meta + Google ads.

• Democratic candidates in competitive races spent $118,807 on Meta + Google ads last week, while Republican candidates spent $90,367.

The below data is displayed as combined Meta + Google ad spend for the week of 6/19 - 6/25. For breakouts of platform-specific spending numbers by week, click here.

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Ad of the week: Growing the WI workforce

Last month, Tony Evers started running slick video ads highlighting the work he’s done to help Wisconsin’s economy. He led with middle-class t…

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