Why were there Texas U.S. Senate race ads during the Eagles game?
A series of ads for Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton were aired during the Eagles-Rams game on Sunday, and people were asking why.
Philadelphia Eagles fans were left befuddled on Sunday — and not just because of the Birds’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“Why am I getting Ken Paxton ads during the Eagles Rams game???” wrote one user on X. Many others posted similar questions, some with decidedly more profanity.
At least three ads supporting Paxton, the Republican candidate in the contentious U.S. Senate race in Texas, aired during the home matchup, which was broadcast locally on Fox 29.
Likely, the majority of the Eagles-Rams audience can’t vote in Texas. So why all the airtime?
“It’s probably aimed at reaching into the pocketbooks rather than the voting hearts of the people who are going to be watching,” said Michael Hagen, an associate professor in the political science department at Temple University.
Hagen said the motive for putting ads in front of people who may not be able to vote in a particular election is typically to solicit donations and raise funds.
With a month until the midterm elections, the Texas Senate has become a “much more competitive question mark” than expected, he said; polls show Paxton is trailing his Democratic opponent, James Talarico. While Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas in decades, the hotly contested race, and others in battleground states, could also swing control of the U.S. Senate.
According to social media posts, at least one of the slots — of Paxton’s estranged wife urging voters to back the entire Republican ticket — appeared to run nationwide.
“Dawg I am in ROSSLYN, VIRGINIA,” one user said, posting a photo of the commercial on TV. (Also, on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys played the Houston Texans.)
That ad was funded by a political action committee, which has invested more than $125 million into the race, according to the New York Times. Paxton’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Sunday evening.
Rest assured; Hagen said people shouldn’t expect many more ads from Texas:
“It really is unusual, but it’s an indication of just how much money is being put into the Senate race in Texas, in particular, and Senate races all over the country,” he said.
“We’ll definitely see much more money being raised and spent — just not maybe in this particular way.”
