“Caught on video admitting his far-right agenda.” “Glenn Youngkin has been caught,” a female narrative voice whispers as news reports of the video fill the screen. The McAuliffe campaign portrayed Youngkin as being held to the conservative fringe of the Republican Party. The campaign has put the most money behind a 60-second ad that seizes on a hidden-camera video recorded by a liberal activist that showed Youngkin openly worrying about losing “independent votes” over the issue, but promising to go “on offense” to restrict access to abortion if Republicans also take the statehouse.
More than 60 percent of the spending has been on ads that have at least some negative comparisons or attacks, according to AdImpact.įour of the five most expensive ads for the McAuliffe campaign have been negative, with a particular focus on abortion, an issue that rocketed to the forefront of national politics after Texas passed a new law that bans almost all abortions. Outside groups and super PACs have largely stayed on the sidelines. The two candidates have combined to spend more than $36 million on broadcast television ads at just over $18 million each, according to AdImpact, an ad tracking firm. In an expensive race with in-person campaigning still limited by the pandemic, the national issues being debated over the airwaves have set the tone. In a contest deemed a bellwether for the 2022 midterms, the battle between Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and the state’s former governor, and Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has ignited more over the cultural issues currently inflaming national politics than traditional tension points like state and local taxes.Ītop the list of the most aired ads in the race are attacks about abortion (although there’s no current law or challenge to abortion rights in Virginia) and schools (amid the national debates on curriculum, critical race theory and mask mandates). But the ad wars in the race for Virginia governor indicate that national is the new normal. It’s a long-held mantra in elections: All politics are local. Sign up here to get On Politics in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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