The Badger Herald

NEWS

Madison top market for Bush

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Ryan Masse:

by Ryan Masse

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

President George W. Bush may not be making any visits to Madison this election season, but the commander in chief’s presence has been felt heavily in the area.

From Sept. 24 to Oct. 7, the Bush campaign and allies have run more television ads in the Madison area than in all but four of the nation’s media markets, according to a report released Tuesday by Nielsen Monitor-Plus and the Wisconsin Advertising Project.

The high number in the Madison market, which comprises much of the southwest portion of the state, is likely a reflection of Wisconsin’s status as a key battleground state in this year’s election.

The state has been deluged with ads from both Bush and Democrat John Kerry’s campaigns, and Green Bay ranks in the top 10 markets nationally for both candidates. A total of five of the state’s media markets are among the 50 most active nationally, according to the report.

Wisconsin is trumped, however, by Florida and Ohio, two states consisting of five of the top 10 targeted markets in the country. Miami, Fla., took the crown for most total advertising by both campaigns and their allies from Sept. 24 to Oct. 7.

The report found the number of true battleground states in the presidential election has dropped to 10, with Missouri being the latest to lack campaign advertising. The Kerry campaign has run few ads in the Show MeState in the last couple weeks, which some think shows Kerry has conceded the state to Bush.

Louisiana and Virginia also have experienced a sharp decrease in advertisements and ads in Oregon and Washington have dropped as well.

“Missouri has voted for the presidential winner in just about every election in the last century, so it’s interesting to see that it no longer appears to be a battleground state,” Wisconsin Ad Project Deputy Director Joel Rivlin said.

Colorado, on the other hand, has emerged as a key battleground state. The Kerry campaign made the Denver market the fourth-highest target of its advertising, signaling Kerry will challenge Bush in a state the president won by nine points in 2000.

The report reveals another state won decisively by Bush in 2000, Nevada, is being tightly contested this year.

“Some folks are not too happy with Yucca Mountain (a potential nuclear waste dump), and that’s moved Nevada into play,” Rivlin said.

Since its inception in 1998, the Wisconsin Ad Project has tracked and coded political advertisements in the country’s 75 largest media markets.

Rivlin said the project, which is headed by UW political science professor Ken Goldstein, provides a glimpse into campaigns that polls cannot always provide.

“Looking at this data gives us a window into the wall rooms of a campaign,” Rivlin said. “Campaigns can leak polls selectively, but where they put their money gives insight into what they are thinking.”

UW political science professor Charles Franklin said Colorado’s status as a battleground state is most surprising, but noted Missouri may not be in the bag for Bush.

“After the St. Louis debate, Bush stayed in Missouri for another day. Maybe he was just shoring up his base, but perhaps we will see some ads there,” he said.