Map of Obamacare attack ad spending.

MAP: Where Is the Most Money Being Spent on Anti-Obamacare Ads?

MAP: Where Is the Most Money Being Spent on Anti-Obamacare Ads?

Weigel
Reporting on Politics and Policy.
Dec. 3 2013 12:21 PM

Where Is the Most Money Being Spent on Anti-Obamacare Ads?

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Kantar Media/CMAG

Kantar Media has created a great infographic showing where the most anti-Obamacare ad money is going. The map measures the amount of money spent on Obamacare attack ads, and the percentage of uninsured people in each media market. Almost all of the money has been funneled into markets where a high proportion—at least 15 percent—of the population is uninsured.

As Sean Sullivan notes, the map shows us, unsurprisingly, that conservative groups are hammering negative Obamacare ads in markets where Senate Democrats are up for re-election in 2014.

Media markets in North Carolina, Kentucky and Arkansas, home to competitive 2014 Senate races, are at or near near the top of the list. Virginia, where there was a competitive 2013 gubernatorial race, also has a big presence near the top of the list. Mobile, Ala., where a heated Republican congressional primary was recently decided, has also attracted a lot of ad dollars. In all these races, Obamacare emerged as substantial focus.
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Sen. Kay Hagan, an obvious target of the ads, voted for the ACA in 2009 but recently supported Sen. Mary Landrieu's bill to extend people's old insurance plans even if they didn't meet ACA standards. In the Charlotte area—where the most money has been spent so far this year—23 percent of the population is uninsured. No matter how much Senate Democrats try to bulk up their moderate bona fides, conservative groups will always have those 60 yea votes to hitch their wagon to in 2014.

Check out the map in its entirety: