The old news bureau adage, “where blood flows, it connects” is proving true in today’s 24-hour news cycle, but cable is no longer deploying that strategy. Not just news. An analysis of the midterm elections found this to be especially true for Republican candidates who leaned heavily toward crime-focused ads while ignoring voters’ biggest issues: inflation and the economy. This was even more pronounced in the federal election, when little could be done about crime and insecurity in cities mostly run by Democrats.

The goal of any campaign should be to find issues that give candidates an edge over their opponents. and There are enough undecided voters here to get support. At the same time, just because a party has credibility on an issue doesn’t mean it should get votes there. This overly focused focus on crime, a sub-problem above the top problems of inflation and the economy, will cost the Republican Party a heavy burden in 2022.

The 2024 election is already in full swing, and many of the Republican candidates, especially in the Republican presidential primary, are still focused on blaming the Democrats for their indisputably dismal performance on law and order. However, this undermines their greatest strength. Even Republicans playing supporting roles in this campaign are advocating crime over economic policy.

In fact, crime and security ranks seventh among all the key issues examined in the latest national survey. For Republican voters, inflation and the economy are the top concerns, closely followed by illegal immigration, with national security a distant third. If Republicans care more about the economy than crime, and independents care more about inflation than public safety, why are Republicans, especially those running for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, about lower class issues? Are you going to keep spending so much time talking?

Further analysis of the 2022 ad spending data provided by AdImpact also found that the Republican campaign was spending too much money on criminal messages. At the state level, about $184 million was spent on crime-focused advertising, compared to just $84 million in economics. The federal Republican nominee spent his $154 million on criminal advertising, compared to his $190 million on the most important issue that draws swing voters in his direction: the economy. spent

If these numbers stay the same or increase during the cycle, these voters will once again be the deciding factor in not just presidential elections, but many important elections.

Today, no one in a major demographic ranks above double digits in putting crime and public safety above another issue. Independents are like Republicans in that regard. They rank the economy nearly three to one, more important than illegal immigration and crime, and less than one-fifth the importance of tackling the economic problem.

No other issues scored above 30 points across all tiers surveyed. Even the Democratic Party’s biggest issue right now, gun control, failed to get past 30 percent of voters because the economy is still the Democrat’s second most important concern.

Republicans have an opportunity not only to blame Biden and Democrats for their failures, but to articulate an optimistic vision of improving the economy and keeping inflation under control. Telling voters that things are expensive and that the economy is in the tank because of Biden is like saying the sky is blue, and they already know that. This strategy left the Republican Party with a red drip in 2022, not a red wave. This means not just yelling about inflation, but actually providing a sympathetic example of the impact inflation has on voters’ daily lives, and a clear picture of what the Republican Party’s conservative approach will look like. It is meant to show contrast. to Democratic policy.

Underscoring this point, Republicans received only 54% of voters who said inflation and the economy were their top concerns, while 85% of voters concerned about illegal immigration, a key issue for crime and security. have earned. But Republicans keep talking more about crime and immigration than about inflation.

Rather than focusing on issues that grabbed the headlines but haven’t yet made headlines and thus seem to have moved voters’ attention significantly, the largest voters likely to trust the Republican Party on economic issues. Doubling it makes more sense. Convincingly influencing a large number of voters.

The 2022 ad spending data should tell a better story about how the economy and inflation would be better if the Republicans took the lead, and how the Republicans would improve inflation. Yet it shows that Republicans are still oblivious to the effects of overspending on criminal messages. I would. As far back as September last year, voters consistently gave economic concerns 15% to 26% higher importance than any other issue facing the country. So these concerns are currently not being addressed by the Democrats and are therefore justifiable. For the Republican’s share.

Republicans would be wise to take a turn—persuasive advertising and stump speeches—to reflect their vision for a better economic future under Republican rule.

Brent Buchanan is President of Cygnal Polling & Analytics

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.