Republicans and right-wing groups have spent five times the amount of the Democratic counterparts on TV ads focused on the issue of immigration and border security.
Analysis by The Immigration Hub and AdImpact of ads airing in 11 battleground states and Montana in 2024 showed $263,893,664 had been spent by both parties between January and August.
Last month alone, GOP spending reached over $106 million in states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania, bringing their total to $263,893,664. Democrats have spent $39.6 million.
“For too long, Democrats have ceded the issue, giving away a critical advantage. Immigration is an asset; not a political loser for Democrats,” Immigration Hub Deputy Director Beatriz Lopez said in a press release.
Donald Trump speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in front of screens showing the same chart on immigration that was displayed during the attempted assassination during his rally in Pennsylvania. The GOP has spent far more on immigration-related ads during the 2024 campaign than the Democrats.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
During August, following President Joe Biden‘s withdrawal from the race and Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democrat nominee, there was a shift in the party’s approach.
Spending on immigration-related TV ads by the Democrats increased by 300 percent, the analysis showed, but the GOP also increased its spending, with 74 percent of its advertising focused on immigration and Harris’ record on the border.
“Harris is showing she’s not afraid or pivoting away from immigration, particularly border security,” Lopez added.
“Her approach and values haven’t changed. She understands that Democrats’ sharpest contrast against Republicans on immigration is that one party won’t rule out family separation and the other is working on solutions to keep families together.”
Anti-immigration ads produced by the GOP and its affiliates have been viewed over 3 billion times, with the top key word being “border”, followed by “crime”.
By contrast, Democrat-backed ads were viewed over 1 billion times in the same 12 states.
Parties have targeted their ads in the key border states of Texas and Arizona, as well as Wisconsin and Ohio.
Immigration has been a key issue in this year’s presidential election, with both sides saying they are the ones offering a pathway to border security and legal migration.
The GOP’s platform has promised that Donald Trump will ensure the wall on the southwest border is completed, while also touting mass deportations of illegal immigrants and tougher vetting measures for new arrivals.
Democrats have vowed to bring back the bipartisan border bill, which Republicans in the Senate halted earlier this year. Harris has said this would bolster officer numbers on the border and help to tackle the fentanyl epidemic affecting the U.S.
“Americans do not want chaos and divisiveness on an issue that calls for solutions,” Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said in a statement after Tuesday’s debate.
“Voters strongly prefer candidates who talk about border and immigration solutions over those who use dehumanizing language against immigrants.”
