The 2020 United States presidential election is around the corner and the race is heating up. As the candidates battle it out, so do their campaigns with a growing number of Republican ads in Iowa and New Hampshire.
The influx of Republican ads in those two states isn’t only noticeable for its increase in quantity—it’s also becoming increasingly nasty and negative. According to an analysis by The Washington Post, a majority of the ads across both states are “negative or contrast” messages that aim to do more harm to candidates than good.
Particularly in Iowa, the airwaves are filled with age-old tropes, targeting Democratic presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In an effort to undermine their respective candidacies, the Republican National Committee has released countless ads attacking them on foreign policy, trade and healthcare.
At the same time, New Hampshire has seen its own emerging trend of Republican-backed anti-Biden ads. The ads focus on issues such as trade, infrastructure investment, and “China’s rising power on the global stage.”
The emergence of such attacks signals a pivot on the part of the Republican party, which had previously placed its emphasis on warm and positive ads. The tactics are mirroring the campaign strategy of President Donald Trump, who learned the importance of such tactics the hard way during the 2016 election.
The strategy looks to be paying off. Recent polls in Iowa and New Hampshire indicate that Republican candidates have taken a lead in both states. Meanwhile, Democrats have been slow to catch up, in part due to the larger ad buys and intensity of the Republican messages.
Regardless of which way it goes, it’s clear that the 2020 election is now fully underway, and the Republican party is embracing a new approach in its messaging. Only time will tell if the inflammatory messaging pays off electorally.