The Youngkin campaign put more than $1 million behind the ad. Though McAuliffe’s quote did not originate in the current tussle over schools, it quickly resonated. Schools have quickly climbed to the forefront of national political scraps, with right-wing media seizing on a crusade against school mask mandates and critical race theory, and major conservative pundits pushing for Republicans to focus on school board races. Other national dividing lines, such as voting rights, police reform and public health, play central roles in the McAuliffe campaign’s effort to paint Youngkin with the patina of a Trump Republican More than 75 percent of McAuliffe’s ads include an attack on or contrast drawn with his opponent.įor the Youngkin campaign, one ad is dominating the rotation: a clip from a debate in September where McAuliffe stated, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” The comment followed an argument between the two candidates over a veto McAuliffe signed as governor in 2017 of legislation that had allowed parents to opt out of allowing their children to study material deemed sexually explicit. In another ad, the McAuliffe campaign highlights a doctor who claims that Youngkin’s support of abortion limits would “harm my patients” and that he is inserting politics into science and medicine, an echo of the common criticisms of the anti-vaccine and anti-mask movements. “Caught on video admitting his far-right agenda.” “Glenn Youngkin has been caught,” a female narrative voice whispers as news reports of the video fill the screen. The McAuliffe campaign portrayed Youngkin as being held to the conservative fringe of the Republican Party. The campaign has put the most money behind a 60-second ad that seizes on a hidden-camera video recorded by a liberal activist that showed Youngkin openly worrying about losing “independent votes” over the issue, but promising to go “on offense” to restrict access to abortion if Republicans also take the statehouse. More than 60 percent of the spending has been on ads that have at least some negative comparisons or attacks, according to AdImpact.įour of the five most expensive ads for the McAuliffe campaign have been negative, with a particular focus on abortion, an issue that rocketed to the forefront of national politics after Texas passed a new law that bans almost all abortions. Outside groups and super PACs have largely stayed on the sidelines. The two candidates have combined to spend more than $36 million on broadcast television ads at just over $18 million each, according to AdImpact, an ad tracking firm. In an expensive race with in-person campaigning still limited by the pandemic, the national issues being debated over the airwaves have set the tone. In a contest deemed a bellwether for the 2022 midterms, the battle between Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and the state’s former governor, and Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has ignited more over the cultural issues currently inflaming national politics than traditional tension points like state and local taxes.Ītop the list of the most aired ads in the race are attacks about abortion (although there’s no current law or challenge to abortion rights in Virginia) and schools (amid the national debates on curriculum, critical race theory and mask mandates). But the ad wars in the race for Virginia governor indicate that national is the new normal. It’s a long-held mantra in elections: All politics are local. Sign up here to get On Politics in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Virginia race national dominate ad wars