The exhausting difference in voter experience between California and battleground states
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- California's strong democratic party leanings mean the state's 54 electoral votes more than likely go to Kamala Harris, meaning the largest share of presidential ad spending is going to toss-ups, not solidly blue grounds like the Golden State.
In states where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck-to-neck, voters are being bombarded with rallies, advertisements, door-knocking and mailings. While California voters are still getting some of that, it's nowhere near the barrage of mailers and ads voters in battleground areas are getting. It's why we set out to understand what it's like to be a voter in a swing state.
From July 22 to Oct. 8 alone, there's been about $1 billion worth of presidential ad spending in the seven swing states according to AdImpact. The majority of that has been funneled into Pennsylvania, with about $279 million spent alone, followed by more than $200 million in Michigan.
ABC7 News reporter Monica Madden interviewed colleagues at two of our sister ABC-owned stations in the battleground states of North Carolina and Pennsylvania to get a better idea of the current climate.
MORE: 2024 Election: Voter's guide to key races to watch across Bay Area, California
It is expected that out of all the purple states, the results of the presidential race could come down to Pennsylvania. WPVI anchor and reporter Brian Taff said it's a responsibility voters in Philadelphia are not taking lightly.
"People are taking it very seriously. We may be tired. We've seen these candidates now come - I believe the latest count was 18 times, the candidates have come here in the past couple of weeks," he said. "But we are excited. And I think at the end of the day, we recognize that being a swing state carries with it a significant responsibility, which is that you get the power to vote your vote matters in perhaps a disproportionate way. And people are excited about that. They do feel a little bit honored that the candidates are coming and making direct appeals to us."
In Raleigh, WTVD anchor and reporter Joel Brown said North Carolina is certainly up for grabs for either candidate.
"Early voting in North Carolina is higher than it is anywhere across the country so that points to the excitement that is among voters. But no one knows how these early voters are actually vote or voting. So there is a lot of cautious optimism, nervousness on both sides of the campaign," he said.
MORE: 2024 Election: How Californians are getting out the vote in swing states
Both Brown and Taff said that issue-wise, most of the advertisements in their states are focused on the economy, immigration and reproductive rights.
"These are the three things that are that voters here are being beaten over the head with on a daily basis in these advertisements, on television, on the Internet, on your phone," Taff said. "I think they're not like where they are in the rest of the country where by climate might be a top two or three issue in the state of California. That's not what's breaking through here right now."
MORE: 2024 Bay Area Voter Guide
"One advertisement that's gotten a lot of attention has been Donald Trump's attack on Kamala Harris and talking about transgender inmates within the state prison system that have gotten a lot of attention. And we've heard we've certainly heard pushback from Kamala Harris' side on that. Kamala Harris has ads a lot more on personality, and that seems to be resonating with voters all over the state," Brown said.
A commonality regardless of geographic location, voters are ready for the end of election season.
"I think at this point voters are fairly used to it. Used to the attention, used to the amount of ads. And I think if you ask them honestly they're ready for it to be over," Brown said.
