Sanders Spent Heavily on Facebook In Days Before Iowa

(Bloomberg) -- As the Iowa caucuses loom, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been plowing cash into an eleventh-hour ad campaign on Facebook Inc. He spent $795,000 advertising on the site from Jan. 26 to Feb 1., more than any of his rivals competing in Monday’s caucuses, according to data from Facebook.

That money went towards a fusillade of Facebook ads in which Sanders asks for donations and criticizes the “political establishment.” One ad reads, in part, “Good news: with just a FEW HOURS left before the Iowa caucus, we are winning. Bad news: the entire economic and political establishment is now coming after us.”

The caucuses mark the first time voters weigh in on the Democratic candidates, and could help frame the narrative around the primary at a time when Sanders has been gaining in the polls. Sanders is leading in Iowa, according to the latest average of polls from RealClearPolitics. His eleventh-hour social media ad campaign is aimed at helping continue to fuel his momentum.

Between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1, the most recent period for which Facebook data is available, the Sanders campaign has accounted for 38% of all spending on Facebook from candidates competing in Iowa. This represents a significant acceleration for Sanders, who has accounted for only 14% of Facebook spending from the same group of candidates over the course of the campaign.

“You do want to spend late. That’s when people make up their minds, particularly when you have so many candidates in the field,” said Marc Farinella, a former Democratic political consultant. Sanders had the advantage of going into the Iowa caucus already well-known among voters there, having narrowly lost to Hillary Clinton in 2016. “Candidates who are not well known are often forced to spend early so they can get on voters’ radar screen.” 

Tom Steyer spent $594,000 on Facebook over the same period, the second-highest total of candidates competing in the caucuses. Joe Biden, who has led in many polls, spent $109,000, continuing his pattern of being less aggressive on digital spending throughout the campaign. 

The candidates spending the most on Facebook, however, are not focused on Iowa. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is not competing in the state, spent $8.5 million on Facebook over the same period. This represents over 30% of his campaign’s total spending on Facebook so far, a sign the levels could continue to increase. Bloomberg’s self-funded campaign has spent $55 million on Facebook and Google advertisements during his self-funded presidential run, according to the companies’ ad portals.  

Bloomberg also ran a 60-second Super Bowl ad Sunday, and is blanketing later primary states with digital and television advertisements. He could benefit if Biden struggles in the early states, potentially creating the space for an alternative moderate choice. 

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump spent $1.5 million on Facebook; his campaign has spent about $40 million on Facebook and Google since May 2018, according to the companies’ ad portals. The president doesn’t face a contested election until November, though that hasn’t kept him from running a constant stream of digital ads.

Most recently, the president’s ads have been touting his upcoming State of the Union address. He’s asking voters to sign their name to a list, promising they’ll be displayed on the “Official State of the Union Live Stream.” Last week, Trump’s campaign was selling baby onesies with phrases like “Baby Lives Matter” and “I Cry Less Than a Democrat” via Facebook ads. These ads serve both to collect information about potential supporters and to raise money.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump focused much more heavily on digital advertising than his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. His victory sparked concern among many Democrats that the party had fallen behind in digital strategy.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Brustein at jbrustein@bloomberg.net, Anne VanderMey

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