Non-stop ads and robocalls: welcome to America's costliest election
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-money/non-stop-ads-and-robocalls-welcome-to-americas-costliest-election-idUSKCN1N90B8?
Welcome to the most expensive race in the hard-fought battle between Republicans and Democrats for control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which will be decided in Tuesday’s elections.
The blizzard of spending in California’s 25th district, a region stretching north and east of Los Angeles into the high desert of the Antelope Valley, stands out even during the most expensive congressional elections in U.S. history.
Most of the money is funneled into non-stop advertising - on TV, radio, social media, yard signs, automated robocalls to cell phones and land lines, bumper stickers and a deluge of pamphlets stuffed into mailboxes.
“The mailers go in the trash,” she said. “I can’t wait until this whole thing is over.”
The contest, a top Democratic target, has drawn more than $26 million in spending by candidates and outside groups since January 2017, according to a Reuters analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data.
It leads the 10 priciest House races, where a total of $238 million has been spent. tmsnrt.rs/2qrstCG
Republicans are seeking re-election in nine of the 10 most expensive House races. The tenth is an open Republican seat. Each recorded spending of more than $20 million.
Four of the costliest races are in California. Contests in Washington, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida, New York and Minnesota round out the list.
California’s 25th district is one of the most competitive. Republicans have held the seat since 1992. But the past decade has seen an influx of newcomers priced out of the Los Angeles housing market, and now nearly 40 percent of the district’s 720,000 residents are Hispanic.