Heidi Ganahl is the only Republican to advertise on television

As ballots head out to voters across the state this week, Coloradans can expect a continued flurry of campaign advertisements to hit their televisions, streaming services and internet browsers as candidates for statewide office push their messages.

It is an industry that involves tens of millions of dollars in Colorado. Colorado Newsline analyzed political television advertisement contracts filed with the Federal Communications Commission from the eight major party candidates for statewide offices across seven channels. The broadcast channels included are CBS4, 9NEWS, Denver 7, FOX31, KWGN, KRDO and KKTV.

That analysis did not include outside advertising spending, which accounts for many more millions of dollars spent by third-party groups supporting or opposing certain candidates.

Across the board, however, candidates widely try to advertise during local news in the morning and evening and during the shows immediately after.

Travis Ridout.
Ridout

“Traditionally, local TV news has been important because you get a lot of high-information people and people who are likely to turn out to vote. There’s a lot of undecided voters and persuadables,” Travis Ridout, a professor at Washington State University who also works with the Wesleyan Media Project, said.

Find out more

Colorado Newsline