Bob Casey Says He Loves Hunters and Fishermen. Why Is He Blocking Them From His Campaign Ads?

Pennsylvania senator bars deer hunters, fishermen from seeing some of his Facebook ads

Sen. Bob Casey bills himself as a champion of Pennsylvania’s hunters and fishers, calling the outdoor sports a “part of Pennsylvania’s heritage.” But on Facebook, the Democrat is blocking sportsmen in the commonwealth from seeing his campaign ads.

Casey, whose campaign has spent $300,000 on Facebook advertisements since June 11, has excluded users interested in “deer hunting” and “fishing” from viewing some ads on the social media site, according to an analysis by the Washington Free Beacon. He has also blocked ads from reaching users interested in “NASCAR” and Duck Dynasty.

At the same time, Casey has directed Facebook ads to users interested in topics like “activism,” the WNBA, NPR, and the television show The West Wing.

Casey’s use of the ad strategy—known as “microtargeting”—could raise questions about his claims to support Pennsylvania’s hunters and fishermen. And Casey’s exclusion of ads to users interested in traditionally conservative hobbies could undermine his claim to be “one of the most bipartisan … members of the Senate.”

In a campaign post last year, Casey wished “good luck” to the commonwealth’s hunters, and called hunting one of Pennsylvania’s “longest and proudest traditions.” In 2012, he sponsored the Sportsmen’s Act, stating that “hunting and fishing are part of Pennsylvania’s heritage, and they support substantial economic activity and jobs in the state.”

While Facebook does not provide microtargeting data for individual ads, Casey has published several that would likely not appeal to a conservative audience.

He ran a series of ads last month with gun control activist Gabby Giffords, which stated, “We can’t afford to lose here in Pennsylvania when women’s rights, workers’ rights, voting rights, and gun safety are all on the line.”

Casey invokes abortion in other ads, claiming his Republican opponent Dave McCormick “supports a national abortion ban.” McCormick is pro-life, but has said he opposes a national ban and supports abortions in cases of rape, incest, and for the health of the mother.

The Casey campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Recent polls show Casey leading McCormick in the race, though Casey recently called himself “the underdog.” Republicans plan to spend $100 million over the next two months attacking Casey on border security, and his record of voting in lockstep with the Biden-Harris White House.

While Casey has tried to appeal to hunters and fishers, he has not made a similar outreach to the commonwealth’s NASCAR fans.

He mentioned the sport in June 2020, but only to promote NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace’s false claim that he was the target of a hate crime. Wallace, who is black, claimed someone left a noose at his car garage during a race at Alabama’s Talladega Speedway.

“NASCAR met a painful moment with unity, empathy and solidarity,” Casey wrote on June 22, 2020. “Hate has no place in our Nation. We must act to address this open wound and move forward, as @BubbaWallace said, together,” wrote Casey, who concluded the post with the hashtag, “#IStandWithBubba.”

The FBI debunked the story the next day, stating that Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime, and that the rope he believed was a noose had been at the garage for months.

Other Democratic candidates are using the same partisan microtargeting strategy as Casey. Michigan Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin has excluded users interested in “Jewish studies” from seeing her Facebook ads, while directing others towards followers interested in the pro-Hamas television network Al Jazeera. Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, who calls herself one of the most bipartisan members of the House, directs ads to adherents of “feminist philosophy,” while withholding them from Fox News viewers and country music fans.