As of May 9th, more than $10 million has been spent in the Republican primary race for governor.
The majority of that money, $6.59 million, has been spent by the Kelly Craft Campaign and Commonwealth PAC.
Daniel Cameron's campaign and Bluegrass Freedom Action, the PAC supporting Cameron, have spent $2.75 million.
Around $623,000 has been spent on pro-Ryan Quarles ads, around $199,000 has been spent on pro-Eric Deters ads, and around $5,000 has been spent on pro-Alan Keck ads.
But with the primary election just days from being over, will the ads work to sway voters? Or have voters already made their choices?
"In most races, elections are settled by now," explains Dr. Stephen Voss, who studies voting behavior. "Most of the politically active people have been watching enough to make their decisions."
"But, always, there's about 10% of the electorate that decides at the last minute," added Voss. "And yes, ads can influence, in a close election, who wins because of the voters who are up for grabs."
That brings us to the cash advantage in Kentucky's race. Kelly Craft, using significant family wealth, has been able to out-spend the other candidates and can continue to do so.
However, Voss explains that money has diminishing returns at a certain point.
"A candidate with very little money, such as Somerset Mayor Alan Keck, just struggles to launch a serious bid," said Voss. "But once you get to the point where you have enough money to reach most people with a TV ad or two, to reach most communities with a billboard or a mailer, the number of votes you're able to sway, or the number of voters that you're able to mobilize, per dollar, drops."
"Money matters when you don't have any," added Voss. "Once you have some money, the amount you have matters less."
