Iowa Campaign Ads Show Power of Negativity in Republican Race

As Iowa Republicans took in the final appeals before caucus voting, one major lesson the candidates will take away: Going negative works.

An estimated $5.8 million was spent on television advertising in Iowa through Dec. 30, with $3.7 million financing negative ads, according to most recent data available from New York-based Kantar Media’s CMAG, a company that tracks advertising. Most of those negative ads were directed against one candidate: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who led national and Iowa opinion polls from mid-November to mid-December. Since Dec. 1, 45 percent of all ads airing in Iowa criticized Gingrich for shifting policy positions and advocacy for Freddie Mac, a government-backed mortgage-finance company caught up in the housing crisis, and other groups after resigning the House in 1999. The commercials were primarily financed by Rep Ron Paul (R-TX), Gov Rick Perry (R-TX) and an outside committee that backs Mitt Romney, who used his own campaign cash to run only commercials promoting himself.