Wisconsin Supreme Court race sees heavy online spending
Voters’ feeds filled with crime, abortion ads from Facebook to Snapchat
Today, Wisconsinites head back to the polls to elect their newest Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. The choice between liberal Janet Protasiewicz (read: pro-tuh-say-witz) and conservative Dan Kelly will essentially determine which side of the political aisle will have a majority on the court. And there’s a whole lot baked into that: when the Dobbs abortion-rights decision came down last summer, Wisconsin was dragged back under an 1849 abortion ban. This election is the Democrats’ chance to take back the Court for the first time in a decade and restore reproductive rights for millions of Wisconsinites.
If that weren’t enough, every pundit, pollster, and political operative is looking for clues in this race to see how the 2024 election cycle might shake out. So unsurprisingly, the amount of spending that’s gone into this election is absolutely massive. Estimates peg the total spend at around $45 millon– and that includes a significant investment in digital ads on sits like Facebook, Instagram, Google, Youtube, and Snapchat. We took a deep dive into who is buying those ads and what they’re doing with them. Check it out 👇
Facebook + Instagram
Here are the top political ad spenders in the race on Facebook and Instagram in Wisconsin this month:
According to Meta’s political ad library, groups allied with Protasiewicz spent around $682,942 in the past month, while pro-Kelly organizations only spent $104,469. The majority of ad dollars have flowed through A Better Wisconsin Together, a progressive advocacy group in the state.
Some notable ads on Facebook and Instagram include pro-Janet messages that slam Dan Kelly for his anti-abortion and anti-marriage equality record:
And conservative organizations have hit back with some extreme claims about Protasiewicz’s background (note: attacks against Protasiewicz involving a rape case have been generally disproven after the victim came forward to express that the ads were inaccurate):
The digital ad frenzy has continued over on Google and YouTube as well. Here is the Google ad breakdown for top spenders in Wisconsin this past month:
Similarly to Facebook, pro-Janet groups have spent much more than Kelly’s supporters on Google platforms. Protasiewicz allies spent around $923,600 in the past month, while conservative groups only spent $203,800.
The majority of ad messaging on Google includes a good amount of pro-Janet content highlighting the need to restore abortion rights:
And conservatives have countered with false attacks on Protasiewicz, especially regarding what they seem to think will combat attacks on Dan Kelly’s anti-abortion record:
Snapchat
And although campaigns and organizations spend less on Snapchat than other platforms, there has been some spending there in this race. Here are the top spenders YTD:
Snapchat is, of course, a much younger and more liberal space so these ads focus primarily on educating young voters about what’s on their ballot and making sure they get out to the polls for Janet:
FWIW, we will be watching results come in tonight with a close eye. This is the first election of what promises to be an incredibly tumultuous and – dare we say it – unprecedented cycle. Whichever side can take this race and learn from it will have a huge advantage in the state moving into 2024.