ORLANDO, Fla. — With less than seven weeks until election day, and less than a week until mail-in ballots go out, the spending to win Florida is accelerating.
Political reporter Christopher Heath examined the messaging now, finding a shift for both campaigns on issues as voters start to make decisions.
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Over the summer, the message from the Biden camp was squarely on COVID-19, while the Trump campaign focused on law and order.
But with votes already being cast in some states, and Florida set to send out mail ballots this week, we’re seeing a shift from the Trump campaign.
“In the past few weeks, they have shifted more to a message of traditional bread and butter Republican issues: jobs and taxes,” co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project Travis Ridout says.
From August 10 until September 13, the vast majority of Trump campaign ads dealt with jobs, business, and taxes. COVID-19 is seventh on the list.
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Meanwhile, COVID-19 remains the top issue for the Biden team, followed by general healthcare issues, then business and jobs.
“I think there are a lot of things going on because there are a lot of different types of voters,” Ridout adds.
There’s also been a shift in tone for both campaigns.
Over the summer, attack ads accounted for more than half of all ads. Now, they’re less than 40 percent.
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Groups working outside of the campaigns are also hard at work. We just got our first look at a new pro-Biden ad funded as part of the $100 million Michael Bloomberg pledged to spend in Florida.
It’s set to start airing very soon, and once it does, we’ll put it to the Eyewitness News Truth Test.