Political candidates are using the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in campaign ads, but an analysis suggests Americans are tuning out international crises.
Candidates in at least five races have referenced or hinted at the Islamic State, according to Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group.
An ad in Georgia attacking Michelle Nunn quotes from an internal memo talking about how a nonprofit she ran gave to “terrorists.”
New Mexico Republican Senate challenger Allen Weh used a still from the most horrific video of all, the beheading of journalist James Foley. The issue is “absolutely going to be on the front of people’s minds” this election cycle, Weh told ABC News.
The National Republican Congressional Committee created an ad attacking Minnesota Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan for voting to “cut funds from the fight against al Qaeda,” according to ABC News.
The ads aren’t just by challengers.
Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell has an ad showing an Islamic State member with an automatic weapon, juxtaposing it with President Obama‘s “we don’t have a strategy” remark.
But a separate CMAG analysis, found that international issues were largely absent from campaign ads, mirroring public sentiment that America should avoid new engagements in the Middle East.
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that only 30 percent of Americans thought the country should be more involved against the Islamic State, and that a larger group was “tuned out.”
