Numbers show impact of negative ads in GOP lieutenant governor runoff

July 27, 2018

State Rep. Geoff Duncan on Tuesday defeated state Sen. David Shafer in the Republican lieutenant governor runoff in Georgia. In the May primary, Shafer came within 1.1 percent of capturing the GOP nomination. But, Duncan was able to pull off a remarkable victory in the runoff.

Content Creative Media produced hard-hitting ads targeting Shafer and boosting Duncan for third-party group Hometown Freedom Action Network.

From Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Maya Prabhu:

While Georgia’s early voters backed state Sen. David Shafer in the Republican lieutenant governor runoff, an election day edge for former state Rep. Geoff Duncan lifted him to victory.

That shift came after campaign advertisements and mailings backed by $3 million from a dark money fund targeted Shafer.

During the three weeks of early voting, which ran from July 2 to July 20, nearly 53 percent of voters cast their ballots for Shafer. More than 157,000 people voted early in the Republican primary runoff.

Duncan took a slight lead among election day voters, with a 51.3 percent of those casting ballots choosing the Cumming Republican. Nearly 400,000 voters showed up to the polls on Tuesday to vote in the Republican runoff.

The numbers show the impact of negative campaign ads and mailers targeting Shafer and paid for by an out-of-state “independent” group, the Washington-based Hometown Freedom Action Network.

Read the full report.

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