Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders aired 206,528 ads. Not a single one was negative.
As Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders' fight for the Democratic nomination winds toward a close, the pair of candidates leaves behind them a surprisingly friendly primary — perhaps the most gracious ever, at least in terms advertisements. According to Kantar Media, of the 206,528 ad spots Clinton and Sanders aired between them this year, not a single one was determined by analysts to be "negative."
Donald Trump, by comparison, faced $62 million in attack ads during the primary season. Obama and Clinton both aired negative ads against each other back in 2008, too. However, Sanders doesn't believe in attack ads — and Clinton both didn't see Sanders as a big enough threat and risked alienating his supporters in a general election by airing her own ads against him.
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The goodwill might not last much longer, however. Clinton has no such qualms holding back against Trump — her campaign has already produced an ad slamming her likely general election opponent for attacking Judge Gonzalo Curiel in a racist manner. And, of course, Trump has never exactly been one to hold back on how he really feels.
