As COVID-19 has swept across the world, everyone has felt the effects. Many businesses are closed or working remotely. The political world has not been unaffected. Campaigns, even those in heated reelection fights such as Sen. McSally’s, have halted campaign activities. In some cases, this has included not only face to face canvassing but also the airing of paid ads. Over the last month, we have seen approximately a 50% weekly decrease in campaign ad spending — down from $164 million the week of February 25th to $8 million so far for the week of March 24th. Some of this is due to the natural ebbs and flows of the campaign cycle. Spend would decrease anyways following Super Tuesday. The effects of states such as Georgia and Alabama postponing elections could also hamper ad spending. But the virus is certainly a contributing factor as well.
Several groups have taken to both the airwaves and digital platforms to message on coronavirus. The first TV ad mentioning coronavirus came from Michael Bloomberg almost a month ago, on February 27th. “He Is Prepared”
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