State senate candidates and committees from both parties have spent a grand total of $5.8 million in Virginia on broadcast, cable and radio advertising. Republicans hold the edge, having spent $3 million on advertising compared to $2.7 million for Democrats.

Democrats currently hold a four-seat majority in the state Senate, but their grip on power is tenuous given Virginia’s political climate. Moreover, they’ve had to defend districts where in past cycles the GOP didn’t even field a candidate. This year, the battle to control the state Senate been fought primarily in thirteen districts, which have been blanketed with ads.

Unfortunately for the candidates, the Virginia Legislature paid no attention to the geography of media markets when it drew up the legislative districts. The result is uniquely shaped boundaries that can spill-in and spill-out of several media markets at a time, making it difficult to efficiently reach the right voters through mass media.

Take the Roanoke media market, where candidates and issue groups together have spent $1.9 million. The map below illustrates how districts 20, 21, 22 and 38 spill-in and spill-out of the city’s TV market. In the case of districts 38 and 22, only voters from certain counties fall into the Roanoke market. Other voters who reside outside of the market are not exposed to the campaigns’ Roanoke advertising at all.

In districts where there is significant market spill-in and spill-out, campaigns must determine if a worthwhile percentage of their targeted voters will actually receive exposure to their broadcast ads.

For example, district 38 falls into three broadcast markets: Bluefield-Beckley, Roanoke and Tri-Cities. As the state’s biggest spender, state Sen. Phillip Puckett (D) — who didn’t face an opponent in 2007 — has placed over a half a million dollars on ads in these markets on broadcast and cable. Puckett has placed $545,000 on broadcast in all three markets and $26,000 on cable in Bluefield-Beckley only.

Adam Light, Puckett’s Republican challenger, has spent over $380,000 on advertising in Bluefield-Beckley, Roanoke and Tri-Cities. Light has placed $323,000 on broadcast, $53,000 on cable and $7,000 on radio. He has received additional $38,000 in advertising support from the Republican Party of Virginia on cable and radio.

This map shows district 38 and the counties that fall into each broadcast TV market.

To put this spending into context, here is a map of the district and each TV market to their full extent.

Despite his massive outlay, Puckett is in danger of losing his seat after 13 years in office. If he’s defeated on Tuesday, questions should be asked about the effectiveness of his advertising strategy.

As an alternative to the large scope of broadcast, advertising on cable TV allows candidates to more precisely target the voters within their districts. Instead of blanketing a whole media market with advertisements, campaigns can pick and choose which cable systems cover their district. The drawback to advertising on cable, however, is that the audience is a lot smaller.

Total Spend by District
At least thirteen state senate districts have been blanketed with ads: VA SD-01, VA SD-06, VA SD-09, VA SD-17, VA SD-20, VA SD-21, VA SD-22, VA SD-29, VA SD-36, VA SD-37, VA SD-38, VA SD-39 and VA SD-40.

Total Spend by Candidate

Total Spend by Market
Where in Virginia have these campaign dollars been spent? Candidates and issue groups together have spent $1.9 million in Roanoke, $1.6 million in Washington, DC, $890k in Norfolk, $498k in Tri-Cities, $413k in Richmond, $377k in Charlottesville and $135k in Bluefield-Beckley.

A version of this blog post was published on Campaigns and Elections blog, Campaign Insider

Virginia broadcast and cable began airing new political advertising this week from the candidates running for Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor.

Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General, Steve Shannon for Attorney General, and Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor all placed ads in the Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Tri-Cities, and DC markets, while Deeds and McDonnell continued with their statewide advertising schedules. The above map compares how much each candidate spent by market for the week of 9/22-9/28.

This chart details how much money each candidate and issue group has placed in each market since the week of 8/31, and show the grand total of spending since 5/11.

Cuccinelli placed a total of $672k in Norfolk, Richmond, and Roanoke broadcast for five weeks of advertising from 9/29-11/2.

Click here to see a map of Cuccinelli’s spending.

Shannon placed a total of $140k in Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Tri-Cities, and DC broadcast and cable for one week, 9/22-9/27. He placed $100k of the total sum in Norfolk, Richmond, and Roanoke broadcast, and he placed $40k of the total sum in Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Tri-Cities, and DC cable networks NB, CNN, FXNC, HLN, MNBC, TNT, and USA.

Click here to see a map of Shannon’s spending.

Bolling placed a total of $74k in Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, and DC broadcast and cable for 9/22-9/28. He placed $67k of the total sum in broadcast, and he placed $8k of the total sum in Norfolk and DC cable networks CNN, DISC, ESPN, and HIST.

Click here to see a map of Bolling’s spending.

Creigh Deeds placed a total of $807k in Virginia broadcast and cable for 9/22-9/29. He placed $661k of the total sum in broadcast, and he placed $146k of the total sum in cable networks CNN, ESPN, TLC, AEN, DISC, HGTV, LIF, TBS, TNT, USA, BRVO, and MNBC.

Click here to see a map of Deeds’ spending.

Bob McDonnell placed a total of $648k in statewide broadcast and cable for 9/21-9/28. He placed $528k of the total sum in broadcast, and $120k of the total sum in cable CNB, AMC, CNN, DISC, ESPN, FXNC, FOOD, HGTV, HIST, TNT, USA, TWC, SPK, and LIF.

Click here to see a map of McDonnell’s spending.

Candidate Spending in Richmond, VA: WRIC-TV, WRLH-TV, WTVR-TV, and WWBT-TV

Bob McDonnell consistently paid the lowest cost per point each week out of all the candidates who advertised during the Virginia Primary. He paid an average $53 CPP each week, achieving around 670 GRPs each flight during his first three weeks on air. Overall, he spent $156k and gained a total of 2,967 GRPs from 5/4-6/9.

Terry McAuliffe paid a higher cost per point for advertising. More inconsistent in each flight than McDonnell, McAuliffe paid an average of $62 CPP per week. But with $286k to spend in the market, he achieved the most GRPs out of anyone – a total of 4,631 GRPs.

Creigh Deeds paid the highest cost per point out of all the candidates, averaging $66 CPP. He also proved inconsistent in comparison to McDonnell each week. Deeds spent $192k in Richmond and achieved 2,895 GRPs.

As an issue group, Common Sense Virginia paid a much higher cost per point than any of the candidates. They paid an average $92 CPP each week, spending a total of $186k and gaining a total of 2,021 GRPs.

These charts detail each candidate’s gross ratings points, monetary spending, cost per points, and total spots purchased in Richmond during the weeks of 5/4, 5/11, 5/18, 6/1, and 6/8.

Candidate Spending in Washington, DC: WJLA-TV, WRC-TV, WTTG-TV, WUSA-TV

Bob McDonnell went up on air in the Washington, DC market the week of 5/11 and stayed up for four weeks until the week of 6/8. He paid the lowest cost per point in the DC market as well, averaging $430 CPP each week. McDonnell spent a total of $930,600, gaining a total of 2,163 GRPs.

Terry McAuliffe paid the highest cost per point – $808, nearly double of that which McDonnell paid. He waited until the week of 5/25 to go up on air, placing a total of $636k in the market and achieving 788 GRPs.

Creigh Deeds went up on air in the Washington, DC market one week before the election on 6/9. He placed $285k – half of his entire broadcast budget for 6/1-6/9 – in this one market. Deeds paid an average $594 CPP and achieved 480 GRPs.

These charts detail each candidate’s gross ratings points, monetary spending, cost per points, and total spots purchased in Washington, DC during the weeks of 5/11, 5/18, 6/1, and 6/8.

With two months to go until Election Day, both Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds’ advertising campaigns have launched into full swing with ads scheduled to start airing in the Washington, DC market the week of 9/7-9/14.

McDonnell placed a statewide total of $488k in broadcast and cable for 9/7-9/14. He placed $399k of the total sum in broadcast, and $88k of the total sum in cable.

Deeds placed a statewide total of $573k in broadcast and cable for 9/7-9/14. He placed $472k of the total sum in broadcast, and $100k of the total sum in cable.

Each candidate had previously placed two week’s worth of broadcast and cable advertising in all other markets in Virginia before entering the DC market. McDonnell has spent a total of $828k in broadcast and cable advertising since 8/25, while Creigh Deeds has spent a total of $1.1 million since 8/25. Virginia Common Sense has spent at least $709k in broadcast and cable advertising for 8/26-10/1.

This chart compares the total dollars spent between each candidate and issue group from 8/31 onwards.

Having entered into the Northern Virginia area, each campaign can expect to spend a much more significant amount of more campaign dollars on advertising each week.

After a two month silence since the end of the primary election in June, this week Creigh Deeds, Bob McDonnell, and the GOP issue group Virginia Common Sense have reemerged on the airwaves, placing new broadcast and cable advertising schedules in Virginia for 8/25-8/31. With ten weeks to go until the general election, how will each candidate allocate his campaign dollars in advertising?

Deeds placed a total of $247k in broadcast and cable this week (8/25-8/31) in all markets except for Washington, DC. He placed $183k of the total sum in broadcast, and $64k of the total sum in cable. His new ad can be viewed here. *Update: Deeds extended his flight to 9/2, placing an additional $148k in broadcast and cable. This brings his total dollars spent on advertising for 8/25-9/2 to $395k.

McDonnell placed a total of $141k in broadcast and cable this week (8/25-8/31) in all markets except for Washington, DC. He placed $107k of the total sum in broadcast, and $34k of the total sum in cable. His new ad can be viewed here. McDonnell placed another $189k in advertising for 8/31-9/6. This brings his total dollars spent on advertising for 8/25-9/6 to $331k.

Finally, Virginia Common Sense, a republican issue group, has also placed buy for $262k for 8/26-8/31 in broadcast and cable this week as well. Their ad can be viewed here.

This chart compares this week’s spending between the two gubernatorial candidates.

Each candidate placed the bulk of his advertising dollars in the Norfolk, Richmond, and Roanoke markets. Northern Virginia will most likely have to wait a while before receiving any ads in their expensive market.