Gubernatorial Campaign Digital Spending, 9/18 - 9/24

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: 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