Planned Parenthood to spend $50M on midterm election advertising

A record amount of money is expected to be spent on advertising for the upcoming midterm elections, and a chunk of that will come from Planned Parenthood. The organization plans to spend $50 million in nine states where abortion is on the ballot. Those nine states are:

• Arizona
• Georgia
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Wisconsin

“Who wins in these midterm elections will determine whether a state has access to abortion and potentially determine whether we will face a national abortion ban,” Jenny Lawson, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes, said. “We will be clear about who is on which side.”

The midterm elections will take place just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, paving the way for states to institute their own abortion bans. While most of those bans have been successful, an attempt to pave the way towards an abortion ban in Kansas notably failed earlier this month.

The $50 million Planned Parenthood plans on spending on midterm advertising would break the group’s previous $45 million spending record set in 2020. Funding for the advertising was made possible in part due to an influx of donations following the Roe ruling.

While it is a record for them, Planned Parenthood’s midterm spending is expected to be just a drop in the bucket. $9.7 billion is projected to be spent this year in political advertisements. The would make the 2022 midterm election the most expensive election ever.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.