Susan Wild bills herself as one of the "most bipartisan members of Congress." But on Facebook, the Pennsylvania Democrat is sending her campaign pitch to feminists and MSNBC viewers, while keeping it from Fox News watchers and country music fans.
Wild’s campaign has spent $33,642 since June 2 on 52 Facebook advertisements, according to the tech giant’s database. Of those, Wild has blocked 10 ads from reaching fans of Fox News and followers of rock and country musicians often associated with conservatives: Toby Keith, Kid Rock, and Colt Ford. She screened out the same number of ads from reaching followers of X owner Elon Musk and podcaster Joe Rogan.
At the same time, Wild directed 12 advertisements to adherents of "feminist philosophy" and Facebook users interested in "activism," "social change," and other causes associated with liberalism.
Wild’s "microtargeting" strategy—though not a new concept for political campaigns—could fuel longstanding concerns that the Pennsylvania Democrat is not the political moderate she proclaims herself to be. Wild, who is running for reelection against Republican state representative Ryan Mackenzie, has moved to the center on issues like energy and immigration ever since her district was redrawn in 2022 to incorporate more GOP-leaning voters.
But Republicans have questioned Wild’s sincerity, citing several high-profile incidents in which she privately mocked conservative constituents. Earlier this year, Wild lamented in a conference call with fellow Democrats that her new district included constituents who "drank the Trump Kool-Aid." And Wild accused one constituent, a military veteran, of homophobia because he refused to shake her hand at a Memorial Day event. (Wild isn’t gay.) In 2022, she said she would "have to school" conservatives added to her district.
Facebook does not provide microtargeting data for individual ads, but the language in many of Wild’s ads provide clues about their intended audiences. In an Aug. 13 ad seeking campaign donations, Wild refers to Mackenzie, her opponent, as an "anti-choice extremist," a message that would likely appeal to Wild’s feminist supporters.
In other ads, Wild strikes a more bipartisan tone. She claims in one ad series, for example, that she "works across party lines" to deliver for her Pennsylvania district. Wild has also targeted Hispanic voters with ads aimed at fans of the popular Mexican beers Sol and Modelo, and Selena, the late Tejano musician. She published ads in Spanish that tout her record on manufacturing jobs and fighting against "corporate price gouging."
Facebook is not the only venue in which Wild has tailored contradictory messages to her constituents.
In May, Wild sent contradictory letters to two Jewish constituents who asked Wild in identical emails to support Israel, the Washington Free Beacon reported. In one response letter, Wild defended Israel’s "right to defend itself." In the other, Wild called for international support to force Israel into an "immediate ceasefire," and blamed the Israeli government for an "unspeakable tragedy continuing to unfold in Gaza."
Wild, whose campaign did not respond to a request for comment, is not the only Democrat to face scrutiny over her Facebook microtargeting strategy.
Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, under fire from anti-Israel activists in her campaign for Senate, has blocked those interested in "Jewish studies" from viewing her campaign’s Facebook ads, the Free Beacon reported. She directed 12 ads to followers of Al Jazeera, a Qatar-funded news outlet that publishes Hamas propaganda.
And the Voter Participation Center, a self-described "non-partisan" charity that registers Americans to vote, blocks NASCAR fans, golfers, and Jeep aficionados from seeing its Facebook ads, the Free Beacon reported. Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney (N.Y.) has questioned whether the group’s ad campaign violates IRS laws that prohibit charities from engaging in partisan activities.