The best way to see that the party remains fixed in the Trumpian mold is to, well, see it. In hundreds of TV ads, GOP candidates and outside groups that support them, are highlighting their commitment to Trump’s policies and persona. The advertising analysis firm AdImpact captures and categorizes political ads from around the country. Since the beginning of the year, the term “Trump” appears in 164 ads that collectively total $26M worth of spending. Almost all of those ads — 152 of them — and that spending ($24M) came from the Republican side.
Most of these GOP ads feature not just images of the former president, but also many of the terms associated with Trump, like “fighter,” “conservative outsider,” and “America First.” Many feature pledges to complete or finish “Donald Trump’s wall” at the southern border and to defeat “radical socialism.”
In the contests where Trump hasn’t endorsed, GOP candidates eagerly present their Trumpian bonafides in their advertising. In the Alabama Senate race, where Trump has yet to endorse another candidate after rescinding his support of Brooks, candidate Mike Durant boasts that he is a “conservative, pro-Trump” candidate who is “ready for the fight.” Katie Britt, the former chief of staff to retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, bemoans the high level of illegal immigration and promises to ‘finish Trump’s wall” at the southern border.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member