Super PAC Advertised to Wrong Portland in Maine Senate Race
A political action committee, Defending Main Street, appears to have confused "Portland, Maine" with "Portland, Oregon," showing ads for the Maine Senate race to viewers in the wrong state.
The political action committee Defending Main Street has seemingly confused its target audience for an advertising campaign tied to the Maine Senate election. The super PAC, aiming to influence the race in Maine, reportedly spent around $25,000 on an ad campaign that appears to have been shown to residents of Portland, Oregon, instead of Portland, Maine.
The 30-second ad, titled "Too Many Taxes," focuses on taxes and the cost-of-living crisis, central themes in the election between incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson. First shown on October 8, the ad has garnered over 1.2 million views, but a significant portion of those views have reportedly come from viewers in Oregon, not Maine.
Social media users in Oregon have shared screenshots from Google Ads Transparency Center showing the ads targeted to Oregon zip codes. This apparent geographical mix-up has drawn criticism, with some calling it "out of touch." The ad targeting has since reportedly been updated to include Maine zip codes.
Jackson's campaign has commented on the situation. "Susan Collins' allies are so out of touch with Maine, they can’t even find it on a map," said Dan Gottlieb, spokesperson for Jackson's campaign, to Fast Company. "Good luck convincing Mainers you know what’s best for them when you don’t know which Portland they live in."