Outside interest groups buying the Iowa U.S. Senate election?

CEDAR RAPIDS - Outside interest groups have paid for about 80 percent of television advertising since the June primary in Iowa's heated U.S. Senate race, mirroring a national trend in competitive elections.

Candidates Bruce Braley and Joni Ernst chipped in a relatively small share of the nearly $14 million spent on ads purchased in their race in Iowa June 4 through Sept. 10. Democrat Braley paid for only 16 percent of the cost of ads run in his favor, and Republican Ernst paid 20 percent of the tab for her ads, according to an analysis by eight Iowa news organizations, including The Gazette, the Des Moines Register and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

'We're definitely seeing an increase in outside spending, not just in Iowa, but across the country,” said Erika Franklin Fowler, assistant government professor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks and analyzes political ads.

The reason for the outside cash is twofold, Franklin Fowler said.

'Outside interest groups shield candidates from backlash, and they're also seen as more credible because citizens don't know anything about them,” she said.

Blitz building

Ernst and Braley - along with outside groups either supporting or opposing them - have purchased 30,600 ads during the first three months of the campaign, according to the review of TV stations' filings with the Federal Communications Commission.

It appears the advertising onslaught will continue through Election Day. A partial sampling of airtime already reserved for ads that will not begin running until later this month or in October shows nearly 6,800 ads - costing another $2.5 million - are slated for the final weeks of the campaign.

Those figures are certain to soar even higher as the election draws closer.

Braley's TV push has been aided most by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and NextGen Climate Action, which have spent a combined $4.6 million on ads supporting Braley or opposing Ernst. That's more than half of all pro-Braley TV spending through Sept. 10.

Top outsiders buying ads on Ernst's behalf are Concerned Veterans for America, spending more than $1.4 million, or about 24 percent, and Freedom Partners Action Fund spending $775,000, or about 13 percent.

Outside spending

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision opened the door for corporations, labor unions and other associations to spend unlimited amounts on campaign ads and other expenditures.

A national analysis released last week by the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity identified Iowa as one of nine states with ultracompetitive Senate races and raging air wars. In recent days, Iowa and Michigan have emerged as the 'hottest” for TV ad spending, the report said.

'There is much more of the PAC (Political Action Committee) money this year than there has been before,” said Steve Lake, national sales manager for KCRG-TV9. (KCRG-TV9 is owned by the same parent company as The Gazette.)

Research of political advertising shows some new trends, Franklin Fowler said. Instead of seeing big money from groups such as the Sierra Club or the National Rifle Association with known agendas, interest groups with vague, patriotic names are contributing most of the money in key elections across the country.

'These unknown groups sound like they're for everybody, therefore citizens tend to give those ads more credibility,” Franklin Fowler said.

A survey commissioned by the Wesleyan Media Project found Americans know very little about the biggest interest group advertisers. More than half of the 1,000 respondents had never heard of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), despite the group being a top ad sponsor in 2012 and in current election cycles.

AFP, founded with the support of Wichita, Kan.-based brothers David Koch and Charles Koch, contributed $688,805 to Ernst's TV efforts since early June. Seventy-four percent of survey respondents didn't recognize Crossroads GPS, a group co-founded by Republican consultant Karl Rove that has purchased $634,470 in TV ads on behalf of Ernst.

The Senate Majority PAC, which spent $785,141 on pro-Braley ads, had 58 percent name recognition in the Wesleyan survey. No other Braley supporters were included.

'That most Americans haven't even heard of the top advertisers this year is troubling for the prospect of accountability,” Franklin Fowler said in April. 'How can citizens hold groups responsible for the content of their ads if they don't know anything about the sponsor?”

Targeting voters

Ernst and her supporters have aired about 1,600 more ads than Braley, but Braley and his supporters have spent nearly $2 million more, the Iowa analysis shows. This could be because Braley is focusing efforts on larger, more expensive TV markets, including Des Moines/Ames and Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Dubuque.

Braley and his supporters spent nearly $470,000 more than Ernst on ads in the Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Dubuque market - where Braley has been U.S. representative since 2007.

Ernst and her supporters, on the other hand, spent $113,600 more in the Sioux City market, which reaches more conservative voters in northwest Iowa.

As usual, campaigns and interest groups are fighting over limited ad time during news shows and top-rated prime time programs, such as ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars,” Lake said. The popular 'Shark Tank,” a reality show in which chief executive officers and tycoons evaluate business proposals by budding entrepreneurs, is only open to candidate-sponsored TV ads, he said.

'PACs can't buy ‘Shark Tank' because we don't even have enough spots for candidates,” Lake said.