BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Every Tuesday, Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, sits down with LehighValleyNews.com politics reporter Tom Shortell for Lehigh Valley Political Pulse on WLVR.
They discuss the latest trends emerging from science-based polls to break down local, state and national campaigns and issues.
This week, Shortell and Borick talk about political campaign budgets and funding, comparing this year's election cycle to those past.
"The numbers that we had this year for the presidential campaign — not to mention all the other Senate, House, state House races — is an extraordinary figure we've seen over the last few cycles, the continuous uptick of campaign finances, amounts spent on campaigns," Borick said. "This year again, we blew away records when you look at the sum of money spent."
The two discussed that mediums that used to drive funding included television and print, but the Internet and social media have bolstered campaigning both in advertisements and raising money.
Shortell said that OpenSecrets, an organization that reports on campaign finance and lobbying, shared that Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District race cost $36.5 million — the 10th most-expensive U.S. House race in the nation.
"I wouldn't say I was surprised," Borick said. "Everybody knows this district's highly coveted. It's competitive. It's also, you know, we look at our media market here, and it's an interesting media market, right?
"And so if you're going to try to reach the Lehigh Valley and you're going through the networks, you're going to pay more than a lot of people do..."
Political Pulse airs throughout the day Tuesdays on 91.3 WLVR. You can listen to an extended version of the conversation by clicking the listen button above.
