The $10.2 billion election

NEWS AND OPINION:

Here’s a voter alert: A record-breaking number of political campaign ads are about to arrive in the media marketplace, touting the abilities of presidential candidates as well as those running in congressional and gubernatorial elections.

The amount the campaigns will spend is unprecedented, according to one well-placed source.

That would be AdImpact, a Virginia analytics firm that has tracked the trajectory of political advertising in 7,384 elections since 2014. The group has analyzed the effectiveness of some 2.6 million ads since that date, according to their mission statement.

“AdImpact projects the 2023-2024 election cycle will be the most expensive of all time, totaling $10.2 billion in political expenditures across broadcast, cable, radio, satellite, digital, and CTV. This would represent a 13% increase over the previous record of $9.02 billion set during the 2019-2020 election cycle,” the organization said in a written summary released Wednesday.

The campaigns can’t wait to get rolling, apparently. They are already spending $652 million by the end of August — and are “pacing 75% ahead of 2019 and 16% ahead of 2021,” according to the summary.

“The off-year of an election cycle traditionally receives between 10-14% of total spending for the two-year cycle,” AdImpact said.

“Presidential spending is projected to receive $2.7 billion in political ad spending this cycle. The contested Republican primary coupled with a concentration on seven key general battleground states will drive spending in the category. U.S. Senate spending, projected at $2.1 billion, and U.S. House spending, projected at $1.7 billion, will be driven by razor-thin margins in both chambers as both parties vie for control of Congress. Gubernatorial spending is expected to see a predictable drop-off compared to the 2021-2022 election cycle at $400 million as there are only 14 seats up for reelection,” the analytics firm said.

‘BIDEN SHOULD NOT RUN’

Reporters and columnists drive media coverage themselves on occasion. Such is the case of Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who shook up the daily news cycle on Tuesday by penning an opinion column titled “President Biden should not run for reelection in 2024.”

The headline alone likely startled some readers, as well as the columnist’s fellow journalists.

Here are a few headlines that followed:

“And So it Begins … Washington Post’s David Ignatius calls on Joe Biden to not run in 2024” (Mediate); Favorite Biden columnist says he shouldn’t seek 2024 re-election” (Axios);

“’I have my concerns’: David Ignatius says Biden shouldn’t run again” (MSNBC); “Washington Post columnist David Ignatius says Biden should not run for reelection” (The Hill); “Washington Post calls on President Biden to end 2024 re-election bid” (Radar Online); “Top Washington Post columnist calls for Biden to drop out of 2024 race” (Washington Examiner).

THE ROMNEY HEADLINES

Sen. Mitt Romney gave the press a jolt on Wednesday when he revealed he would not seek reelection as a U.S. senator, revealing his decision with a brief statement — and that was that. Once again, the press had an opportunity to weigh in on a significant political moment. Ready for some more headlines? Here are just a few that followed the Utah Republican’s announcement:

“Romney to Retire, Calling for a ‘New Generation’ Beyond Biden and Trump” (The New York Times”; “Romney announces he won’t seek re-election in 2024, bashes Trump and Biden” (Fox News); “Mitt Romney won’t seek second Senate term but isn’t ‘retiring from the fight’” (National Public Radio); “What Mitt Romney saw in the Senate” (The Atlantic); “Mitt Romney passes on re-election run in 2024” (New York Post); “‘It is a profound honor’: Mitt Romney won’t seek second term in Senate, says he won’t run for president” (Deseret News).

FOXIFIED

In the week of Sept. 4-10, Fox News was once again the most-watched network in the cable news realm — for the 127th consecutive week.

In prime time, Fox News drew 1.6 million viewers while 1 million viewers tuned in throughout the day. Fox News also aired 77 of the top 100 cable news telecasts that week.

“The Five” stood out as the leading program in cable news for the week, averaging 2.6 million viewers, “Jesse Watters Primetime” with an audience of 2.2 million viewers was runner-up, followed by “Hannity” with 1.9 million viewers and “The Ingraham Angle” 1.7 million viewers. Also high in the mix were late night’s “Gutfeld,” with an audience of 1.8 million viewers, and “Special Report With Bret Baier” with 1.7 million.

And speaking of Mr. Baier, Fox News Media has extended his multiyear contract. He’ll continue as the network’s chief political anchor, and as anchor and executive editor of the aforementioned “Special Report,” a role he has held since 2009. Mr. Baier will also co-anchor 2024 election coverage and host “The Bret Baier Podcast” on Fox News Audio.

“We are thrilled to have Bret continue leading our political coverage as we head into the 2024 election season and beyond,” said Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of the network, in a written statement.

POLL DU JOUR

• 33% of U.S. adults “strongly disapprove” of the job that Congress is doing; 33% of Republicans, 41% of independents and 24% of Democrats agree.

• 25% “somewhat disapprove” of the job Congress is doing; 30% of Republicans, 20% of independents and 26% of Democrats agree.

• 16% neither approve nor disapprove of the job Congress is doing; 17% of Republicans, 14% of independents and 16% of Democrats agree.

• 13% “somewhat approve” of the job Congress is doing; 12% of Republicans, 8% of independents and 18% of Democrats agree.

• 10% are not sure how they feel about the issue; 5% of Republicans, 15% of independents and 9% of Democrats agree.

• 4% “strongly approve” of the job Congress is doing; 2% of Republicans, 1% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,599 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 10-12.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.