SC’s Senate candidates Graham, Harrison begin ad battle four months from Election Day
Millions of dollars in campaign ad spending is pouring into South Carolina’s airwaves with four months until the November election.
And more than $12 million of that spending is coming from just one race.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison has so far spent more than three times as much on advertising this year compared with the Republican incumbent in an effort to boost his name recognition in what has been a safe GOP seat.
This year so far, Harrison’s campaign has spent $7.6 million on TV, digital, radio and satellite ad buys that include two 30-second ads worth six figures, according to data from ad firm Advertising Analytics. Meanwhile, Graham’s campaign has spent $2.2 million. Of that, he spent $700,000 on three 30-second spots, two of which ran during ahead of the June primary when he faced three challengers.
South Carolina is considered among the cheaper states for ad spending because it has no major television market, meaning South Carolinians are going to get flooded with ads, observers say.
“We could see more ads, that’s certainly possible. I think we’re going to be inundated,” said Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston. “We’re going to see tons of mailers, tons of ads, tons of stuff on social media.”
And it won’t just come from campaigns.
The Security is Strength PAC, a group backing Graham, has already spent more than $800,000 on TV time and reserved an additional $1.6 million worth of TV and satellite buys for October and November. Political Action Committees supporting Harrison’s candidacy have spent almost $240,000 to defeat the three-term incumbent, ranging from the gun-control group Brady PAC, the Congressional Black Caucus, Progressive Turnout Project and the Lindsey Must Go PAC.
Graham didn’t need to start early in the ad game because he’s a familiar public figure, Knotts said.
On the other hand, Harrison, “has to get his name recognition up,” Knotts said. “Everybody knows who Lindsey Graham is. Love him or hate him, people know how Lindsey Graham is.”
The Senate race is likely to be among the most expensive in the country.
It also could become one of the most contentious.
In a new ad buy released on Tuesday, Harrison focused on Graham’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 30-second spot tells viewers that Graham wants to end unemployment benefits extended as part of the CARES Act, federal legislation signed by President Donald Trump to help states, citizens and business owners offset the financial impact of COVID-19.
The ad replays Graham saying the benefits would be expanded over his ”dead body.”
“Times of crisis reveal true character, but instead of offering solutions Lindsey Graham is running attack ads,” said Guy King, Harrison’s spokesman. “Once again, we ask ourselves: what happened to Lindsey Graham? Despite over 600,000 South Carolinians filing for unemployment, Lindsey is still fighting to cut crucial relief funding for South Carolinians statewide. In a moment of crisis, we need a Senator who will fight for all of us, not just for himself.”
Though Graham did support increasing unemployment benefits during the pandemic, he did not beyond 100% of what they earned while employed. Graham said he wanted to fix the issue and would not support continuing to allow people to earn more on unemployment rather than before they were laid off.
The unemployment benefit of an additional $600 for a week for four months is set to expire on July 31. House Democrats have passed legislation to extend the benefit through Jan. 31, but that is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.
“We never expected truth and accuracy to be cornerstones of Jaime Harrison’s campaign, and he hasn’t disappointed us yet,” said T.W. Arrighi, Graham’s campaign spokesman. “Senator Graham has been clear that his goal was to help people who are unemployed due to coronavirus keep their incomes intact. It was never his goal to pay people more to be out of work than to be at work. Senator Graham played an important role in helping President Trump build the strongest economy in generations. They built it once. They will build it again.”
Meanwhile, Graham’s latest ad buy connects Harrison with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and identifies Harrison as a “liberal Democrat.” Previously, Harrison was a lobbyist in Washington and worked for House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia.
Harrison, who has openly criticized Graham’s alliance with Trump, has never held public office.
“In some ways it’s Harrison versus Graham,” Knotts said. “But really it’s Pelosi versus Trump.”
To keep running those ads, Graham and Harrison will have to show they can raise money.
Based on both candidates’ federal election filings, that will not be a problem.
As of June 20, Graham has raised $26.2 million this cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission. Harrison has raised $19.2 million during the cycle as of May 20. Second quarter fundraising is due by July 15.
“I would think this is going to be one of the more expensive races in the country,” Knotts said.
This story was originally published July 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "SC’s Senate candidates Graham, Harrison begin ad battle four months from Election Day."
