As 2022 SC governor’s race ad wars near end, parties look at shifting more digital in future
The South Carolina ad wars between Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and Democrat Joe Cunningham are almost over.
But that doesn’t mean voters will see less of the candidates during the last few days of the general election cycle — maybe at least on the television.
McMaster’s campaign has reserved more than $491,000 of air time through Election Day, Nov. 8, on broadcast channels in the state’s four main media markets: Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Cunningham, through a coordinated purchase with the South Carolina Democratic Party, has about $219,000 worth of time reserved on broadcast channels around the state until Monday, FCC records show. The heaviest amount of the airtime was reserved in the Greenville market, where Democrats are hoping to make gains at the ballot box.
The broadcast television advertising advantage in the final week comes as McMaster has outraised Cunningham $7.6 million to $3.4 million during the cycle. The latest campaign finance reports showed McMaster with $2 million in the bank as of Oct. 19, while Cunningham had only $200,000.
“We are grateful for the overwhelming support of donors from across the state, whose generosity has allowed the governor to tell the incredible story of the administration — from record-setting economic development achievements to teacher and law enforcement pay raises — to voters in every corner of the state,” McMaster’s campaign spokesman Brandon Charochak said.
Instead of only relying on television, Cunningham’s campaign also has posted often to social media, which included a recent 48-second piece, where the Democrat argues that politics was never meant to be a lifelong career — intended to be a criticism of the governor. Others have included Cunningham’s stance on the right to abortion access and veterans calling for the legalization of medical marijuana.
“As you can tell from the length of the videos, these ads were never intended to go on television,” Cunningham’s spokeswoman Heaven Hale said. “Too often, 30-second ads force candidates to condense or oversimplify their message for time purposes. These ads allow Joe to get more in depth about his agenda and why he is so passionate about bringing South Carolina out of the past and into the future.”
Between July 1 and Oct. 19, McMaster spent $2.5 million on broadcast television advertising. Cunningham only spent $1 million on media buys.
The fundraising advantage allowed McMaster to start advertising earlier, with ads running three weeks before Cunningham started airing ads.
Cunningham’s first ad of the general election, which aired digitally statewide, also only aired on broadcast channels in the Greenville and Myrtle Beach markets as part of his efforts to introduce himself in more heavily Republican voting areas.
To help, the South Carolina Democratic Party has stepped in.
From Oct. 25 through Nov. 1, the party spent about $236,000 for air time on broadcast channels on Cunningham’s behalf.
“That’s what the party is here for. We’re here to try to help candidates when we can, and where we can and that’s the purpose of our existence,” said Trav Robertson, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. “It’s to create organizations that help our candidates win our elections.”
A change in television viewership also reshaped ads in this year’s campaign cycle.
By focusing more on digital ads, candidates can speak to likely voters more directly, rather than aiming to capture a wider audience that may or may not vote for the candidate on TV.
“It (television ads) is slowly now and over time is less important than it used to be and it will be less important in the next election than it is in this election, because digital is becoming more and more of a thing,” said Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. “The targeability of digital even with digital television with streaming services is huge, because why broadcast to people who either don’t live in your district or aren’t likely to vote for you at all? It’s a waste of money.”
The two campaigns for governor invested in the digital space during the campaign this year.
Cunningham’s campaign reported more than $31,000 on digital consulting and digital fundraising consulting in the latest quarter. McMaster spent $64,500 on digital management and digital advertising in the same period.
“Digital communications have changed,” Robertson said. “The advent of cellphones, the ability to look at micro and macro targeting data and the digital communication have changed everything and you can’t track it like you can TV.”
