Mediaboss Marketing

Twitter reopened shop for its political advertising business nearly two months ago after banning political ads back in 2019, stating concerns over the impact political speech could have on a democratic ecosystem, according to then-CEO Jack Dorsey.

While Republican ad buyers have begun campaign planning for the 2024 election cycle with some excitement, including creating ads to reach supporters for primary campaigns, list building, and fundraising initiatives, Twitter CEO Elon Musks politically polarizing influence is not exactly inspiring confidence amongst Democratic ad buyers, four sources told Adweek.

Theres a lot of excitement around Twitter, particularly with advocacy and cause-based ads, said Justin Hacker, associate vp at digital of Republican ad firm Majority Strategies. In response to an Adweek enquiry, Twitter shared information on its U.S. political campaigning ads. According to the document, it appears that only Republican advertisers are running ads on the platform as of today. The spends go up to $288.77 per ad.

Based on estimates from ad buyers interviewed for this article, Republican ad buyers allocate nearly 25% of their media budget to Twitter, and the range for Democratic advertisers is between 1%-5%. But Twitter is lower on the priority list for political advertisers due to being less effective for direct response messages than Google and Facebook. In 2020, of the $700 million invested in political digital ads, $388 million went to Google and Facebook, while $309 million was spent on connected TV (CTV), according to Statista.

Given the off-election year, the current state of political advertising on Twitter is nonexistent. Digital campaigns are expected to pick up in the fall this year, but most clients at Majority Strategies are optimistic about the platform and are expected to test small campaigns before mass adoption, according to Hacker.

Musks tumultuous Twitter takeover last year led to a decline in ad spend on the platform. But, the reinstating of Twitters political advertising operations could open a new revenue stream for the platform. However, Musks mercurial tweets, like taking a dig at Democrats and his decision to reinstate previously banned right-wing accounts, have buyers questioning his stewardship.

For both Republican and Democratic ad buyers, Twitter hasnt been a platform for direct response to persuade voters. But its a useful avenue to fundraise and reach influencers within the media and activist class.

Case in point: In the 2020 presidential elections, more than $67 million was been spent on Facebook, while $32 million went to Google, according to Open Secrets. Meanwhile, candidates spent less than $5.2 million on Twitter, while Trump never ran an ad on the platform.

Its slightly higher in the funnel tactic for how we use the platform, said Tom Blake, svp, paid media at left-of-center public relationsfirm Fenton Communications.

But Democratic ad buyerswho are open to running campaigns on Twitterhave cited brand safety concerns. Some sources admitted media spend could change if Musk took a step back from his personal interventions and reversed his decision to reinstate banned accounts.

I have clients who are incredibly reluctant to put another cent in his pocket, said Jake Sticka, partner at the Democratic firm Rising Tide Interactive

Controversies around Musks tweets havent had the same impact on Republic advertisers, according to two sources interviewed for this article, who are instead more concerned with how performant the platform is before confidently increasing spend, said Hacker.

Now political ad buyers can spend on the platform, and they are expected to fill out a Google Form to request verification to run political ads on Twitter. This is followed by a review process by the company, including how an account uses Twitter, its profile, its content and targeting included in any active or draft advertising campaigns, per the company website. The entire process takes up to four weeks.

Twitter representatives are expected to help advertisers to navigate this process.

Weve been lucky enough to talk with the Government and Cause-Based reps at Twitter, said Hacker. Were really happy with the support that theyve been providing to help us kind of navigate and figure this out.

Meanwhile, four Democratic ad buyers told Adweek that theyve struggled to get similar support.

Its been hard to even get someone on the phone at Twitter to help us set up for advertising or work through issues were having, said Andy Amsler, svp, paid media at Democratic ad firm Precision.

For political campaigns, to have a real person at the platform who is selling us ads to help resolve any roadblocks is a major need, he said, adding that this issue has further weakened Democratic advertisers trust in the platform.

Adweek reached out to the Twitter press team for comments, which responded with .

This story has been updated to include how much republican ad buyers have spent on the platform.

Read more:
Republican Buyers Are Enthusiastic About Getting Back on Twitter ... - Adweek

Almost two months after a Republican New Jersey councilwoman was gunned down outside her home, her family is appealing for help as they await news of leads in the case.

Police found Sayreville Borough Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, a 30-year-old mother and former EMT, with gunshot wounds in a white Nissan outside her townhouse on Feb. 1 around 7:22 p.m.

Surveillance cameras picked up a shadowy figure running near the scene, and eyewitnesses told dispatchers they saw a man firing into her car before taking off on foot.

But no one has been caught, and her family is begging for justice.

NJ COUNCILWOMAN SHOOTING 911 CALLS REVEAL EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF MALE SUSPECT WEARING BLACK, FLEEING ON FOOT

Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was shot and killed on Feb. 1, 2023; background photo shows police investigating the scene. (Sayreville GOP | Stephanie Pagones / Fox News Digital)

"I need justice for my daughter," her mother, Mary Dwumfour, told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday, Gothamist reported. "Please, God, help me."

Her family has only been contacted twice by police since the slaying, according to the outlet.

Eunice Dwumfour's husband, Peter Akwue, who is believed to have been in Nigeria at the time of the shooting, declined to comment Thursday, telling Fox News Digital that he would speak with his attorney first. Both Dwumfour and Akwue were pastors in the same church, where they initially met.

Her borough council colleague, Christian Onuoha, told Fox News Digital that he had little new information Thursday. Last month, he said that the lack of an arrest has been "discomforting."

Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was shot and killed on Feb. 1, 2023. (Sayreville GOP)

"When we see videos of people running from that complex, you begin to wonder who really gains from this?" he said.

NEW JERSEY COUNCILWOMAN EUNICE DWUMFOUR SHOT DEAD OUTSIDE HOME IN 'DESPICABLE CRIMINAL ACT'

"A colleague was shot in the complex she lived in, in the borough I represent," he said. "When something like that happens, you want to see law enforcement on top of it."

Neighbors told Fox News Digital that they heard between six and nine gunshots and then the sound of the slain woman's vehicle slamming into a row of parked cars.

One 911 caller delivered a shocking eyewitness account from the Camelot at La Mer complex.

This photo obtained by Fox News Digital shows the aftermath of the shooting involving New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

"I heard gunshots. I looked out my window," a man can be heard telling the dispatcher around 7:23 p.m. on Feb. 1. "I saw a man shooting into the driver's side of a white vehicle three times, and then he ran away."

He tells the dispatcher that the suspect left on foot.

"He ran into one of the hallways," he continues. "And the white car drove up and crashed. The person in that driver's side is probably not alive."

NJ COUNCILWOMAN MURDER: INVESTIGATORS EYE CHURCH WHERE SHE WAS TREASURER IN UNSOLVED SHOOTING, REPORT SAYS

The Middlesex County Prosecutors Office said Dwumfour suffered "multiple gunshot wounds" and was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

"The Middlesex County Prosecutors Office will continue to seek justice for Ms. Dwumfour in a responsible manner that balances the needs of the grieving family and to protect the integrity of our investigation," a county spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Dwumfour had a 12-year-old daughter and stepchildren. She was previously a pastor, an EMT, spent time working in a medical office, worked for church-based nonprofits and had served on the council's Human Relations Commission focused on human rights and building peace, Onuoha said.

Sayreville police are asking for anyone with surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the Harbor Club and La Mer developments to share video from between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the night of the crime. They are also seeking dashcam video from drivers who may have been on Ernston Road, Gondek Drive or Point of Woods Drive around that time.

See the rest here:
NJ councilwoman murder: Slain Republican's family calls for justice 7 weeks after unsolved killing - Fox News

Republican state lawmakers are moving closer to putting an amendment requiring 60% voter approval for constitutional amendments onto the ballot in August three months before an amendment guaranteeing reproductive and abortion rights could be before voters.

Its the latest move that would make the process to amend Ohios constitution tougher and make it harder for the abortion access amendment to pass.

A few hours after a hearing on the Houses 60% voter approval amendment - which was packed with people who were concerned about the change to the amendment process - Sens. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) and Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) introduced two measures.

Senate Joint Resolution 2 also requires 60% voter approval to amend the constitution, but unlike the House version, HJR 1, it doesnt require signatures for a proposed amendment be gathered from all 88 counties, and doesnt eliminate the 10 day period to gather more valid signatures if the drive falls short. Those are two additional elements making the amendment process harder.

The other is a bill that would allow for an August special election under certain circumstances, such as to amend the constitution. Thats important because August elections were eliminated under a Republican-backed law passed late last year that goes into effect April 7. That law is probably best known for requiring voters to show photo ID and permitting only one secure ballot drop box per county, and it's a law Democrats had opposed and had asked Gov. Mike DeWine to veto.

These moves come as groups are lining up to oppose the change in the constitutional amendment process, and as a coalition is working on gathering the 414,000 signatures needed to put an amendment on reproductive rights and abortion access onto the November ballot. A lawsuit has also been filed in the Ohio Supreme Court to try to stop that amendment, claiming the state ballot board made a mistake in not determining that was two separate ballot issues.

Similar amendments guaranteeing abortion rights have passed in other states, including those run by Republicans.

Follow this link:
Republican Senators move toward August vote to make amending ... - ideastream

PHOTO: The Republican River near the Nebraska border in late January, by Allen Best.

This story by Allen Best appeared on Big Pivots on March 22, 2023.

The International Panel on Climate Change this week issued its latest report, warning of a dangerous temperature threshold that well breach during the next decade if we fail to dramatically reduce emissions. A Colorado legislative committee on the same day addressed water withdrawals in the Republican River Basin that must be curbed by decades end.

In both, problems largely created in the 20th century must now be addressed quickly to avoid the scowls of future generations.

The river basin, which lies east of Denver, sandwiched by Interstates 70 and 76, differs from nearly all others in Colorado in that it gets no annual snowmelt from the states mountain peaks. Even so, by tapping the Ogallala and other aquifers, farmers have made it one of the states most agriculturally productive areas. They grow potatoes and watermelons but especially corn and other plants fed to cattle and hogs. This is Colorado without mountains, an ocean of big skies and rolling sandhills.

Republican River farmers face two overlapping problems. One is of declining wells. Given current pumping rates, they will go dry. The only question is when. Some already have.

More immediate is how these wells have depleted flows of the Republican River and its tributaries into Nebraska and Kansas. Those states cried foul, citing a 1943 interstate compact. Colorado in 2016 agreed to pare 25,000 of its 450,000 to 500,000 irrigated acres within the basin.

Colorado has a December 2029 deadline. The Republican River Water Conservation District has been paying farmers to retire land from irrigation. Huge commodity prices discourage this, but district officials said they are confident they can achieve 10,000 acres before the end of 2024.

Last year, legislators sweetened the pot with an allocation of $30 million, and a like amount for retirement of irrigated land in the San Luis Valley, which has a similar problem. Since 2004, when it was created, the Republican River district self-encumbered $156 million in fee collections and debt for the transition.

The Republican River district has also tapped federal programs. Since 2004, when the district was created, self-imposed fees have delivered $120 million for the transition.

Its unclear that the district can achieve the 2030 goal. The bill unanimously approved by the Colorado House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee will, if it becomes law, task the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University with documenting the economic loss to the region and to Colorado altogether if irrigated Republican River Basin agriculture ceases altogether. The farmers may need more help as the deadline approaches.

This all-or-nothing proposition is not academic. Kevin Rein, the state water engineer, testified that he must shut down all basin wells if compact requirements are not met. The focus is on the Republicans South Fork, between Wray and Burlington.

Legislators were told that relying solely upon water that falls from the sky diminishes production 75 to 80 percent.

In seeking this study, the river district wants legislators to be aware of what is at stake.

Rod Lenz, who chairs the river district board, put it in human terms. His extended-familys 5,000-acre farm amid the sandhills can support 13 families, he told me. Returned to grasslands, that same farm could support only two families.

An evolution of accountability is how Lenz describes the big picture in the Republican River Basin. We all knew it was coming. But it was so far in the future. Well, the future is here now.

The district has 10 committees charged with investigating ways to sustain the basins economy and leave its small towns thriving. Can it attract Internet technology developers? Can the remaining water be used for higher-value purposes? Can new technology irrigate more efficiently?

We do know we must evolve, Lenz told me. The farmers began large-scale pumping with the arrival of center-pivot sprinklers, a technology invented in Colorado in 1940. Theyre remarkably efficient at extracting underground water. Now, they must figure out sustainable agriculture. Thats a very difficult conversation. Aquifers created over millions of years are being depleted in a century.

The Republican River shares similarities with the better-known and much larger Colorado River Basin. The mid-20th century was the time of applying human ingenuity to development of water resources. Now, along with past miscalculations, the warming climate is exacting a price, aridification of the Colorado River Basin.

Globally, the latest report from climate scientists paints an even greater challenge. To avoid really bad stuff, they say, we must halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. They insist upon need for new technologies, including ways to suck carbon out of the atmosphere, that have yet to be scaled.

We need that evolution of accountability described in Colorados Republican River Basin. We need a revolution of accountability on the global scale.

Allen Best

Allen Best publishes the e-journal Big Pivots, which chronicles the energy transition in Colorado and beyond.

See more here:
BIG PIVOTS: Water Challenges on the Republican River - Pagosa Daily Post

Mike Pence is making little secret of his presidential ambitions. Hes written his book; hes assembling his team; hes mastered the art of the coy nondenial when somebody asks (in between trips to Iowa) if hes running. In early Republican-primary polls, he hovers between 6 and 7 percentnot top-tier numbers, but respectable enough. He seems to think he has at least an outside shot at winning the Republican nomination.

And yet, ask a Republican voter about the former vice president, and youre likely to hear some of the most withering commentary youve ever encountered about a politician.

In recent weeks, I was invited to sit in on a series of focus groups conducted over Zoom. Organized by the political consultant Sarah Longwell, the groups consisted of Republican voters whod supported Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020. The participants were all over the countrysuburban Atlanta, rural Illinois, San Diegoand they varied in their current opinions of Trump. In some cases, Longwell filtered for voters who should be in Pences target demographic. One group consisted entirely of two-time Trump voters who didnt want him to run again; another was made up of conservative evangelicals, who might presumably appreciate Pences roots in the religious right.

Ive been covering Pences strange Trump-era arc since 2017, when I first profiled him for The Atlantic. By some accounts, hes wanted to be president since his college-fraternity days. Ive always been skeptical of his chances, but now that he finally seems ready to run, I wanted to understand the appeal of his prospective candidacy. My goal was to see if I could find at least one Pence supporter.

From the January/February 2018 issue: Gods plan for Mike Pence

Instead, these were some of the quotes I jotted down.

I dont care for him Hes just middle-of-the-road to me. If there was someone halfway better, I wouldnt vote for him.

He has alienated every Republican and Democrat Its over. Its retirement time.

Hes only gonna get the vote from his family, and Im not even sure if they like him.

He just needs to go away.

It went on and on like that across four different focus groups. Of the 34 Republicans who participated, I heard only four people say theyd consider Pence for presidentand two of them immediately started talking themselves out of it after indicating interest.

Some of the reasons for Pences lack of support were intuitive. Hard-core Trump fans said theyd been alienated by Pences refusal to block the certification of the 2020 electoral votes, as the president was demanding. This break with Trump famously prompted chants of Hang Mike Pence! to echo through the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Although the sentiment expressed in the focus groups wasnt quite so violent, the anger was still present. During one session, three peopleall of whom had reported very favorable views of Trumptook turns trashing Pence for what they saw as his weakness.

Im so mad at Pence that I would never vote for him, said one man named Matt. He would be a horrible president I just dont think he has the leadership qualities to be president. (I agreed to identify the participants only by their first name.)

Thats exactly it, a woman named Christine said, nodding eagerly. He didnt have the leadership qualities to do what everyone wanted him to do on January 6. He just doesnt have that spine.

A third participant, Nicholas, chimed in: He just chose to go along with all the other RINOs and Democrats, not to upset the applecart.

Meanwhile, less MAGA-inclined Republicans thought Pence was too Trumpy.

The only thing I liked about him was that he actually did stand up to Donald Trump, a woman named Barbara said. Hes too a part of Trump. I dont think Trump has a chance, and I dont think anybody in that inner circle has a chance either.

I think he put a stain on himself for any normal Republican when he joined the Trump administration, said another participant, Justin. And then he put a stain on himself with any Trump Republican on January 6. So I dont think he has a constituency anywhere. I dont know if anyone would vote for him.

Read: Republicans 2024 magical thinking

Longwell told me this is how Pence is talked about in every focus group she holds. What to make of that 6 to 7 percent he gets in the primary polls? I imagine theres a cohort of GOP voters who are not particularly engaged who dont want Trump again, and Pence is the only other name they really know, she speculated. That, or theyre all from Indiana, the state where Pence served as governor. A second Republican pollster, who requested anonymity to offer his candid view, told me, Seven percent is a weak showing for the immediate former VP.

Devin OMalley, an adviser to Pence, responded to a request for comment in an email: Mike Pence has spent the last two years traveling to more than 30 states, campaigning for dozens of candidates, and listening to potential voters. Those interactions have been incredibly positive and encouraging, and we place more value in those experiences than of a focus group conducted by disgruntled former Republicans like Sarah Longwell and paid for by some shadow organization that The Atlantic wont disclose. (Longwell told me the costs for the focus groups are split between The Bulwark and the Republican Accountability Project, two anti-Trump organizations with which she is affiliated.)

What I found most fascinating about the voters digs at Pence was that they were almost always preceded by passing praise of his personal character: He was a top-of-the-line guy, a nice man, a super kind, honest, decent person. Not only did these perceived qualities fail to make him an appealing candidate, but they were also often held against himtreated as evidence that he lacked a certain presidential mettle.

I dont like how Trump was just in your face with everything, but Pence is almost too far in the other direction, one participant named Judith said.

Perhaps these voters were identifying a simple lack of charisma. But their casual dismissal of Pences wholesome, God-fearing, family-man persona is emblematic of a sea change in conservative politicsand a massive miscalculation by Pence himself.

When Pence was added to the ticket in 2016, his chief function was to vouch for Trump with mainstream Republicans, especially conservative Christian voters. Pences reputation as a devout evangelical gave him a certain moral credibility when he defended Trump amid scandal and outrage. He performed this task exceptionally well. Those adoring eyes, those fawning tributes, that slightly weird fixation on the breadth of his bosss shouldersnobody was better at playing the loyalist. And for a certain kind of voter, Pences loyalty provided assurance that Trump was worthy of continued support.

Pence had his own motives, as I reported in my profile. All of this vouching for Trump was supposed to buy Pence goodwill with the base and set him up for a future presidential run. For many in Pences camp, the project took on a religious dimension. If youre Mike Pence, and you believe what he believes, you know God had a plan, Ralph Reed, an evangelical power broker, told me back then.

But in creating a permission structure for voters to excuse Trumps defective character and flouting of religious values, Pence was unwittingly making himself irrelevant. In effect, he spent four years convincing conservative Christian voters that the very thing he had to offer them didnt matter.

In 2011, a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that only 30 percent of white evangelicals believed an elected official who commits an immoral act in their personal life can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties in their public and professional life. By 2020, that number had risen to 68 percent.

Peter Wehner: The moral desolation of the GOP

Pence won the argument. Now hes reaping the whirlwind.

In one of the focus groups, a devout Christian named Angie was asked how much she factored in moral rectitude when assessing a presidential candidate. I try to use my faith to choose someone by character, but it hasnt always been possible, she said. Sometimes she had to vote for a candidate who shared her politics but didnt live her values.

Who comes to mind? the moderator asked.

I think Trump falls into that category, Angie conceded. But quite honestly, the vast majority of others do as well. She paused. I would say Pence actually doesnt fall into that category. I would say his character probably aligns with biblical values fairly well.

But Angie remained uninterested in seeing Pence in the Oval Office. If he had a record to run on, she wasnt aware of it.

Anything he did got overshadowed by all the drama of these last four years, she said, hastening to add, Seems like a perfectly nice man.

Read the original:
The Brutal Things Republican Voters Say About Mike Pence - The Atlantic