There have been more attack ads about Marco Rubio than Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election

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published 23 August 2016

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has been out of the running for president since March, but he's still managed to inspire more negative political ads than Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. That disparity isn't so much a commentary on Rubio, though, as it is on the striking lack of negative presidential ads Clinton has faced so far this election, Politico noted: Just about a month after Donald Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination, "some current Senate candidates have actually faced a bigger barrage of negative ads in their states than Clinton has nationwide."

Even if Trump is going about his campaign in a decidedly unconventional way, Republican strategists contend that his lack of interest in paid attack ads is a definite missed opportunity. "Failing to define a candidate allows them to compete for votes that they have no business competing for down the stretch in a campaign," Josh Holmes, a top Republican strategist, told Politico. "In particular, the failure to define Hillary Clinton with key demographics that are absolutely necessary to win the election is beyond malpractice."