Welcome to your daily campaigns deep dive, where we explore the inner workings of the midterm races, fundraising, staffing and advertising.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is no stranger to the airwaves in Illinois this year, with the well-funded Republican candidate for governor consistently releasing broadcast spots in what’s shaping up to be one of the most expensive races in the country, against billionaire Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Most of Irvin’s TV ads either hit his Republican rival, state Sen. Darren Bailey, on taxation issues, or they tackle subjects like crime and law enforcement in the state. The majority of ad spending is in the Chicago-area market, with one May 3 ad costing Irvin more than $971,000 so far, according to AdImpact.
But while most of Irvin’s ads are running all over the state, one of his most recent spots released Tuesday doesn’t target Chicagoans at all — an interesting peek at how a campaign in a big state can rely on different messages in different media markets.
The ad in question is 30 seconds of praise for law enforcement officers, which has run in the Peoria, St. Louis, Rockford and Springfield areas, but not in Illinois’ largest city. In the video, three current and former county sheriffs outline Irvin’s support for police officers and touted his record of “[cleaning] up the streets of Aurora — people are moving there” as a sign the potential GOP nominee could do the same across the rest of the state.
“He believes in ‘All Lives Matter’ — that includes the police officer, the color blue,” said Pete Sopczak, sheriff of Johnson County in southern Illinois. Another former sheriff added that Irvin won’t be “pushed around” by other politicians, having “taken on the left” in the past.
As the officers offer their praises in the ad, endorsements from groups like the Illinois Troopers Lodge 41 and the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council scroll across the screen. Many law enforcement organizations and leaders have gotten behind Irvin’s campaign, including the controversial leader of Chicago’s powerful police union John Catanzara, who is considering a run for mayor in 2023.
Republican state politicians have historically used crime as a wedge to campaign against Democrats, who dominate the state House and Senate. This year in particular, crime has been a sticking point for both state Republicans and a handful of Democrats, who objected to the passage of a landmark crime bill in 2021 that is among the first to eliminate cash bail and implement several other justice reforms.
Though Irvin has aired other ads with him affirming support for law enforcement and stating that “all lives matter” across multiple state regions, this is his first advertisement specifically aimed at the middle and southern areas of Illinois.
Bailey has also aired at least three ads that were concentrated outside of the Chicago metropolitan area in the past three months. All of the videos revolved around his suit against Pritzker to “keep Illinois open” in March 2020 — a decision that was thrown out by a judge later that year — as well as his attempts to block tax increases and fight mask mandates. The ads, one of which highlighted his family farming legacy as well, aired in some combination of the Rockford, St. Louis, Springfield, Peoria and Rock Island markets.
THREE ADS TO WATCH THIS WEEK:
We’ve got a week off from federal primaries coming up, so let’s look at some ads flying around in a municipal race. Wealthy Democrat Rick Caruso dropped two new ads in the Los Angeles mayoral race on Tuesday. One features a diverse set of Angelenos who praise Caruso’s record of “helping us all the time” and ability to “turn this city around.” The other is a Spanish ad that describes what Caruso loves about the city. The right leadership, the ad states, can turn the city around on issues like crime, housing and corruption. The race takes place June 7.
On Tuesday, Stronger Nevada dropped two ads against Joe Lombardo ahead of the June 14 primary. Both ads have similar scripts — they label him “‘Slick Joe Lombardo” and bash his public safety record.
Democrat Robert White had the first ad out in the D.C. mayoral race on Tuesday. He outlined campaign promises to “make policing more effective” and “put people over developers.”
TOP CANDIDATE SPENDING (5/18/22-5/25/22, per AdImpact):
- Irvin for IL Governor: $2,556,273
- Caruso for Los Angeles Mayor: $1,325,407
- Bailey for IL Governor: $1,139,519
- Bonta for CA Attorney General: $910,524
- Paxton for TX Attorney General: $877,185
TOP COMMITTEES/OUTSIDE GROUPS/SUPER PAC SPENDING (5/18/22-5/25/22, per AdImpact):
- Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming: $1,897,409
- Coalition for Safe Responsible Gaming: $1,527,411
- Democratic Governors Association: $1,484,120
- National Republican Senatorial Committee: $962,827
- American Dream Federal Action: $815,220