COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Is there anyone who actually likes getting stacks of campaign ads in their mail? Or seeing outrageous attack ads in the breaks between their shows? If there is, I haven't met them.
"It's too much stuff. Again, I've already voted, and I'm still getting piles and piles and piles of this stuff. It just goes straight from the mailbox to the trash can," Robert Shenko, an El Paso County Voter, said.
KRDO13 isn't able to actually count the number of campaign flyers in the mail or the number of seconds political ads eat up on all the TV channels, but based on the amount of reported money spent in the race for Colorado's 5th Congressional District, there have been more ads than ever.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data, between Jeff Crank (R), Jessica Killin (D), and the outside groups/PACs spending on their behalf, $14.8 million has been poured into this race. That's a little more than seven times as much as was spent in the 2024 race between Crank (R) and River Gassen (D).
Between 2020 and 2024, the three separate congressional races for CO-5 spent $3,167,456.35 combined.
Dr. Sara Hagedorn, a University of Colorado Colorado Springs Political Science Professor who in the past worked for multiple congressional campaigns, said there is a simple reason for why so much more money is being spent this year; this race has never been so close.
"In CO-5, we have kind of been, I don't know, we've been let off the hook for most of these congressional races anyway because it hasn't been very close in the past. We are seeing a close race. Hence, we're seeing the negative ads that a lot of other congressional districts around the country are used to," Dr. Hagedorn said.
Those negative ads, Dr. Hagedorn mentioned, are taking up a lot of airspace, and the campaigns are running them for a reason. "We see them [attack ads] because they cause voters to question things. They can also raise anxiety or raise fear or anger in voters, and those are all emotions that we know move people to act," Dr. Hagedorn said.
The most recent poll cited in the New York Times indicates the race is in a dead heat. That means a lot of things, including that you'll continue to see all sorts of campaign ads in CO-5 up until voting closes at 7:00 P.M. on November 3.
Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.
The post Yes, you are seeing more campaign ads than normal in Colorado Springs appeared first on KRDO.
