Here’s how much 2020 candidates are spending on Facebook ads, what demographics they’re targeting

Audrey Conklin, DCNF

A study by Democratic communications agency Bully Pulpit Interactive published Monday reveals how much 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are spending on Facebook ads.

The study, which analyzed Facebook ad spending between March 24 and Oct. 5, also reveals which demographics they’re targeting, according to the New York Times.

Candidates Andrew Yang, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Tulsi Gabbard are targeting most of their Facebook ads toward 13 to 44-year-old men while Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Vice President Joe Biden are targeting most of their ads toward women ages 45 and older, the study shows.

“There’s a reason why they’re called ‘Bernie Bros,’” Democratic pollster and former New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand campaign adviser Jefrey Pollock told the Times. “Nothing about him targeting younger men is surprising to me.”

NEW: Joe Biden spends a majority of his money on women over 45.

Bernie Sanders targets by far the youngest voters of the top tier.

Elizabeth Warren more closely mirrors the projected Dem primary electorate.

A deep dive into the Facebook's ad wars: https://t.co/tTM332zodU

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) October 14, 2019

Biden spent less than $12,000 on ads targeted toward people younger than 25 through the beginning of October, while Sanders spent more than $500,000 for the same age group, according to Bully Pulpit.

Most Democratic support for Biden comes from voters over 65 years of age, while most Democratic support for Sanders comes from voters between 18 and 34-years-old, according to a Quinnipiac poll conducted between Oct. 4 and 7 that surveyed 646 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters with a margin of error of +/- 4.7 percentage points.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a staunch Facebook adversary, has split her advertising somewhere down the middle, targeting $440,000 toward men ages 13-44, $660,000 on women ages 13-44, $530,000 on men ages 45 and older and $980,000 on women ages 45 and older, the study shows.

Support for Warren is split fairly evenly between 18-year-olds and 65-year-old voters, the Quinnipiac poll found.

“You can prioritize toward people taking the action you want them to take,” Bully Pulpit Democratic strategist Alex Kellner told NYT. “Facebook helps you optimize toward the outcome you want.”

Billionaire Tom Steyer has spent the most on Facebook ads: $910,000 on men 13-44, $1.4 million on women 13-44, $1.5 million on men 45 and over and $2.1 million on women 45 and over, Bully Pulpit found. The philanthropist has only 1% support for the Democratic nomination among voters aged 65 and older and no support among other age groups, the Quinnipiac poll shows.

The 19 Democratic candidates still qualified for the nomination have spent a total of nearly $32 million on Facebook ads so far this year, according to Bully Pulpit.

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