As the 2016 campaigns continue, candidates are spending more on advertising that attacks the other candidates. But who’s getting targeted most by the negative ads?
It depends on how you measure that.
From Jan. 31 to Feb. 12, Jeb Bush has been hit the hardest by spending on negative ads. Bush has had $1.8 million spent against him since that day. All but $6,002 of that spending has come from Conservative Solutions PAC, a Super PAC that supports Marco Rubio’s campaign. Those attacks have come in a number of forms: Media placements, online advertising and direct mail.
Unsurprisingly, Bush’s Super PAC, Right to Rise, has spent much of its own funds attacking Rubio: $417,166. But the Super PAC that has attacked Rubio most is affiliated with Ted Cruz. Stand for Truth, which supports Cruz, spent more than $800,000 on a TV commercial to oppose Rubio.
Even though Donald Trump and Cruz are one-two in most polls, less than one-third of the money spent attacking Bush and Rubio has been spent attacking them. Keep in mind, this is only spending from Super PACs, and it only includes the 15 largest ones in the 2016 cycle. Campaigns do their own spending, but those data are harder to track.
On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders famously says he’s the only candidate without a Super PAC. As a result, he saves most of his negative attacks against Hillary Clinton for the debate stage. That doesn’t mean Super PACs aren’t spending against Clinton. In fact, Rubio’s Super PAC has spent nearly $200,000 from Jan. 31 to Feb. 12 to attack Clinton.
The number of negative commercials released by Super PACs and campaigns is another way to track who’s getting targeted most often. Trump has been targeted most often, in nine commercials released since Jan. 31, 2016. He and Cruz are the only candidates to get attacked by independent Super PACs that aren’t supporting a specific candidate. Interestingly, even though Bush is targeted the most by negative spending, only three negative ads attack Bush. Compare that with six for Rubio and four for Cruz.
There don’t appear to be any new negative commercials released from Jan. 31 to Feb. 12 on the Democratic side.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
