Presidential Ad Spending in North Carolina

 Data from

                                
     
Spending on Presidential Advertising in North Carolina, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020      
Total $154.8 million 

Summary: $154.8 million put North Carolina at third in total spending on presidential advertising in this six-month period behind Florida and Pennsylvania.  Although the Biden campaign outspent the Trump campaign by $52.2 million to $32.7 million, interest group spending and coordinated expenditures more than made up the balance.  Ad spending by outside groups heavily favored the Republican side, $43.6 million to $12.8 million; the leading spender was Preserve America PAC at $26.1 million.  All told, Trump and allies outspent Biden and allies by $86.6 million to $68.1 million, or 27.1% more.   To put total spending in context, dividing the $154.8 million total by 15 electoral votes gives a figure of $10.32 million per electoral vote (Biden and allies $4.54 million and Trump and allies $5.77 million per electoral vote).  Dividing by 5,525,804 votes tallied in the presidential race in North Carolina gives a figure of $28.01 per vote; Biden and allies spent $25.39 per Biden vote and Trump and allies spent $31.39 per Trump vote.  The presidential spending figures might have been higher, but there was also intense advertising in the competitive U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races.  On Oct. 24, the Los Angeles Times reported, "The nonstop, back-to-back ads blizzard the airwaves, an onslaught that has cost more than $500 million across all races."
 
These data cover spending on advertising on electronic media (broadcast, cable, radio, digital and satellite) but do not include other types of paid media such as billboards, print advertising and persuasion mail.
Data on this page do not show "independent" ads which account for a tiny amount of spending (less than 0.1%).  "Independent" ads includes ads from third party presidential candidates and other small mostly digital buys from various groups.
Also note that groups such as The Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump, although organized by Republicans and thus nominally Republican, are included under Democrat (Biden/Allies) spending since their purpose was to attack Trump.
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Presidential Ad Spending by Month, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020

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Presidential Ad Spending by Advertiser Type, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020

 Biden and Allies
 Trump and Allies
Candidate
 		$52,192,633
 $32,664,179
Coordinated
 		$3,106,166
 $10,359,081
Interest Group
 $12,847,823
 $43,581,260
Total
 		$68,146,622
 		$86,604,520


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Top Presidential Ad Spending Groups, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020
Supporting Biden  $12.8m

Supporting Trump  $43.6m
DNC  $3,827,671
Preserve America PAC
 		$26,120,166
BlackPAC
 $1,287,635
America First Action
 $14,737,726
Defending Democracy Together
 		$1,274,256
NRA Victory Fund
 $1,117,028
The Lincoln Project
 		$1,237,518


Future Forward
 		$1,039,645



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Presidential Ad Spending by Media Type, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020
Biden/Allies $68,146,622

Candidate
 Coordinated
 Interest Group
Broadcast
 		$32,613,880
 $789,150
 $4,459,025
Cable
 		$13,120,231
 $287,202
 $1,501,160
Radio
 		$2,598,307
 -
 $2,326,209
Digital
 		$2,445,628
 $2,029,814
 $4,026,460
Satellite
 		$1,414,586
 -
 $534,969
Total
 $52,192,633
 $3,106,166
 $12,847,823



Trump/Allies $86,604,520

Candidate
 		Coordinated
 		Interest Group
Broadcast
 		$27,383,815
 $6,753,061
 $35,329,365
Cable
 		$1,667,360
 -
 $6,955,132
Radio
 		$197,122
 -
 $317,746
Digital
 		$3,185,024
 $3,606,020
 $716,326
Satellite
 		$230,858
 -
 $262,691
Total
 $32,664,179
 $10,359,081
 $43,581,260

 
Of $154.8 million presidential ad spending in North Carolina, $107.3 million (69.3%) was on broadcast, $23.5 million (15.2%) on cable, $16.0 million (10.3%) on digital, $5.4 million (3.5%) on radio and $2.4 million (1.6%) on satellite. 

Comparing ad spending by just the two campaigns...
Biden: Broadcast (62.5%), cable (25.1%), radio (5.0%), digital (4.7%), satellite (2.7%).
Trump: Broadcast (76.8%), cable (5.1%), radio (0.60%), digital (9.8%), satellite (0.71%).

As noted above, these data do not include other types of paid media such as billboards, print advertising and persuasion mail.


See:
Noah Bierman.  "Everyone is 'sick of watching': Political ads overwhelm North Carolina."  Los Angeles Times, Oct. 24, 2020.

Russ Bowen.  "New Biden ad aimed at NC's rural communities features Rocky Mount woman, her business."  WAVY, Sept. 25, 2020. 

Glenn Burkins.  "In new NC ads, the Biden campaign reaches out to Black men."  QCity Metro, Sept. 14, 2020.

Phyllis Coley.  "Biden's Campaign Releases New NC 'Ads For Black America' Shot in Durham Barber Shop."   Spectacular Magazine, Sept. 14, 2020.

A.P. Dillon.  Trump campaign making significant ad buy in North Carolina."  North State Journal, Mar. 6, 2020.

See also:
Jim Morrill.  "NC billboard campaign features Republican voters—for Biden."  Charlotte Observer, Oct. 1, 2020.

Billboards:

Newspaper ads from the Charlotte Post [African-American newspaper]:

Oct. 15 

Oct. 29 
Oct. 22 

Oct. 29