Fact-checking Ohio US Senate campaign ads

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – While you’re watching anything on TV, you’re likely to see a lot of campaign ads due in part to the combined $400 million investment in ad buys for the Senate race alone. United States of Ohio.

Are they effective?

The short answer, from experts on both sides of the aisle, is yes, to some extent.

“Despite all the new ways to reach people, social media and mail, it’s still reaching them more through television than anything else,” said Democratic strategist David Pepper. “But I also think it’s reaching a saturation point, and I’d say we’re clearly in Ohio right now.”

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“There has to be a point where people get oversaturated and shrug and say, ‘I’m tired of these ads,'” said Republican strategist Ryan Stubenrauch. “And given the amount of money, close to half a million dollars, that’s being spent on this election here in Ohio, we could get to that point for a lot of people.”

Pepper explained that candidates need to keep up.

“Someone might say that all the money they’re spending, nothing changes, yes, but if you haven’t spent it and the other side was doing all this negative advertising, that’s obviously going to be problematic for the other side. side,” said Pepper. .

And Stubenrauch said that while things may seem negative overall, playing that emotional card often resonates with voters.

“Americans and Ohioans say, ‘I hate negative ads, I hate political ads,’ but the thing is, they generally work,” Stubenrauch said.

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Pepper said it’s typical for the last six or seven weeks of a campaign to flood the airwaves, but said the “idea going back to the summer” is something he’s never seen.

“I’m going to say to every Ohioan, ‘Congratulations.’ On November 6, you have to get your TVs back,’” he said.

Stubenrauch said it’s important for candidates to have a few different ads. He said negative ads are effective, but candidates also need to define who they are and what they do, and the price behind it all this year is unheard of.

“Fifteen years ago, the idea that $40 million would be spent on a race seemed ridiculous, and so the idea that another zero could be added seems, you know, I know inflation is pretty bad and I don’t I did. I think it was so bad,” Stubenrauch said.

Moreno campaign ads

Incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown is running for his fourth term in the United States Senate. He is being challenged by Republican businessman Bernie Moreno in a tight race, so each side is trying to win as much as they can. Like, in a Moreno ad featuring Ottowa County Sheriff Stephen Levorchick.

“I used to vote for Sherrod Brown and the Democrats. Not this year, they voted to protect sanctuary cities that release criminal illegal immigrants onto our streets,” Levorchick said in the ad.

Experts on both sides said it’s a smart ad.

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“When you put real faces that are communicating the message to an ad, that helps,” Pepper said.

“For someone to go on camera and say, ‘Listen, I used to support Democrats, now they’ve lost my support,’ that’s effective,” Stubenrauch said.

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The sheriff you see was a Democrat in 2016, became an independent in 2020, and ran as a Republican in the most recent primary.

Brown’s team said the claim about sanctuary cities is false and points to the senator’s support for a bipartisan border bill and the introduction of legislation to detain immigrants linked to violent crimes.

Brown opposed an executive order by former President Donald Trump to block federal grants to “sanctuary cities” and said he believes cities can’t afford to spend local tax dollars on enforcement. the federal law.

In a statement, a Brown campaign spokesman said: “Sherrod has worked with Republicans and Democrats to secure the southern border, successfully passed legislation to crack down on fentanyl trafficking and keep law enforcement on the job and has been clear that immigrants who commit violent crimes should be deported. He will continue to work with Ohio law enforcement to advance his top priorities and keep Ohioans safe.”

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In a statement from Moreno’s campaign, a spokesman said: “Bernie will go to Washington to fix the mess made by career politicians like Sherrod Brown. Bernie looks forward to working with President Trump to secure our southern border, deport the millions of illegals who have crossed our border under this administration’s watch, get our economy growing again, end the war on American energy, and restore peace around the world. we had under President Trump’s strong leadership. Sherrod Brown has been a rubber stamp for the disastrous Biden-Harris agenda, and Ohio will send him packing in November.”

Brown campaign ad

A Brown campaign ad is a direct response to an attack ad about himself. The attack ad, from the Senate Leadership Fund, accuses Brown of voting to allow transgender athletes to play on teams that align with their gender identities.

Own fact check reply ad reads: “What if I told you a lie like that? A total lie and Bernie Moreno knows it. The truth is that’s already banned in Ohio and Sherrod Brown agrees with Gov. Mike DeWine: These decisions should be made by local sports leagues, not politicians.”

“The reason politicians appeal to fact checkers is because they’re worried the ad will hurt,” Stubenrauch said.

“If you respond to an ad it’s because you think it’s worth responding to,” Pepper said.

Brown voted against an amendment to eliminate federal funding for schools that allow transgender athletes to play on teams that align with their identity. He maintains that the decision should be up to sports leagues, not politicians.

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Transgender athletes playing in leagues that align with their gender identities are banned in the state, but that law only recently went into effect. DeWine vetoed the bill, but the Republican-majority legislature eventually overrode that veto.

In a statement, Moreno’s team said: “Sherrod Brown voted multiple times against withholding federal funds from schools that allow biological males to compete in female sports, he would not support a separate bill to banning biological males from competing in female sports programs, and even refused to condemn sex-reassignment surgeries for children. se to child sex reassignment surgeries. The only person lying here is Brown.”

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