Aug 6, 2019 - Economy & Business
2020 candidates pouring cash into targeting the Rust Belt on Facebook
- Sara Fischer, author of Axios Media Trends


2020 candidates are pouring more into ads targeting Rust Belt states than some of the other early primary states, according to Facebook data pulled from Bully Pulpit Interactive.
Be smart: The data also shows most campaigns have a 50-state targeting strategy online. This is likely a reflection of candidates' push to develop broad-based support in order to hit the requirements necessary to qualify for the next round of Democratic primary debates in September.
- Those requirements include at least 130,000 unique donors, coming from at least 400 unique donors in 20 or more states and at least 2% in 4 national or early primary state polls.
Details: Of the early primary states targeted, Iowa is where the most money is going.
- Of the four big states where ad money is spent — California, New York, Texas and Florida — California has received the most dollars from many of the candidates.
- Several candidates have spent the most in their home states, like Amy Klobuchar with Minnesota, Jay Inslee in Washington, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet in Colorado and Beto O'Rourke in Texas.
- President Trump has spent most heavily in Texas and Florida, with nearly 17% of his total Facebook spend going toward those states.
Go deeper: What you need to know about the 2020 presidential candidates