Gubernatorial Campaign Digital Spending, 6/26 - 7/2

How much are battleground gubernatorial campaigns spending on Facebook + Google ads?

FWIW, here’s how much money battleground Gubernatorial campaigns spent last week on Meta ads (Facebook + Instagram) and Google ads (Google + YouTube) in several key states. 

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.