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The issue of abortion access was the most oft-mentioned issue in campaign ads for the second half of September, an NBC News analysis of House, Senate and gubernatorial campaign ads found.
According to AdImpact, there were 1,064 House, Senate and gubernatorial campaign ads run from September 16 through September 30. 212 of them, or 19%, mentioned or centered on abortion. Many of them were run by Democrats, accusing their Republican opponents of holding extreme views on the subject.
“Tom Barrett is a risk to all Michiganders,” a doctor tells viewers in an ad run by Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin.
“He wants to ban all abortions, no exceptions for rape, incest or those terrible moments during a miscarriage,” the doctor adds.
In Nevada, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto told viewers in one ad, “I’m Catherine Cortez Masto, and I’ll always fight for a woman’s right to make our own health care decisions. But [Republican nominee] Adam Laxalt won’t.”
After abortion, the second most common topic mentioned in campaign ads was inflation. It was brought up in 182, or 17% of all ads.
On both sides of the aisle, candidates are speaking out against inflation.
In one ad, GOP Rep. Tedd Budd, who’s running for Senate in North Carolina, stands between two grocery carts, one full and one half-empty, telling viewers, “Two years ago, most families could afford to fill this up. But now it’s more like this.”
He adds, “Biden’s reckless spending gave us record inflation that’s crushing working families in North Carolina. I’m Ted Budd and I’m running for Senate to stop his spending.”
In Minnesota, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ran an ad featuring a suburban mother. She tells viewers, “Everything is getting more expensive. And with these kiddos it adds up. So I appreciate Governor Walz looking out for us. He balanced the budget while cutting taxes for the middle class.”
Other topics that were popular among ads in the second half of this month were crime, which was mentioned in 162 ads, guns, which were mentioned in 30 ads, and immigration, which was mentioned in 52 ads.