© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
AZ-Sen.: Candidates flooding the airwaves with millions of dollars worth of ads in key Senate race
Arizona U.S. Senate candidates, Republican Martha McSally (left) and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema are vying for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona (Chip Somodevilla(left) and Alex Wong (right)/Getty Images)

AZ-Sen.: Candidates flooding the airwaves with millions of dollars worth of ads in key Senate race

Arizona U.S. Senate candidates are part of a political ad frenzy taking place across the nation. More political ads are popping up everywhere as Republicans fight to maintain control of the Senate and House of Representatives.

How much have they spent?

Kyrsten Sinema, the apparent Democratic front-runner in Arizona, spent $2.7 million on 6,200 TV ads that ran from April through mid-July, according to estimates from Kantar Media/CMAG, a firm that tracks multimedia advertising.

In contrast, GOP front-runner Martha McSally, spent or reserved nearly $300,000 through mid-July, the Arizona Republic reported. Also, McSally’s campaign has received $579,000 in TV help from One Nation. The Virginia-based group has ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Karl Rove, a former political strategist for President George W. Bush.

Sinema is spending most of her advertising (about 78 percent) on broadcast stations, according to the report. Meanwhile, McSally has reserved about 96 percent for cable stations.

In July 2016, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), had spent $927,000 and received another $1 million in help from GOP-aligned groups, according to the report. Ann Kirkpatrick, his Democratic opponent back then, had spent $48,000, according to the report.

What are the ads promoting?

Many of Sinema's ads have messages about health care or veterans affairs, according to reports. That falls in line with the Democrats’ strong national emphasis on health care during this campaign.

GOP ads, meanwhile, have focused on reducing illegal immigration, public safety and combating opioid drugs.

Some voters say the proliferation of ads is already getting tiresome.

Raymond Spatti, 79, of Payson, told the Arizona Republic it seems almost impossible to escape them. Spatti, a registered independent, said the political ads are played during virtually every news show.

"These distortions are what reduce the credibly of right-wing and left-wing politicians," Spatti told the news outlet. "They just don’t stay on topic and try to address them rationally. They believe that by constantly deluging people with lies, people will believe them."

According to the Arizona Republic, there are more political ads in the state this year than were found in 2016 at the same time.

McSally is competing against fellow Republicans Kelli Ward and Joe Arapio.

Sinema, the presumed front-runner in the Democratic primary, faces Deedra Abboud in that contest.

The election primary is slated Aug. 28. All of them are vying for a Senate seat opening due to the upcoming retirement of Sen. Jeff Flake.

Want to leave a tip?

We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?