• Ad Age, Wednesday, November 1, 2006 11:16 AM

The 2006 election is shaping up into the ugliest yet, with negative ads accounting for 80% of the total in some races--up from 60% the last time around. And campaign analysts warn that could bring even more mudslinging in the future.

"The 2008 campaign will be the dirtiest ever," predicts Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "There will be no sitting president or vice president running, and the last time that happened was 1928. The mud will be so thick that people won't be able to see their TV screens."

A report issued late last week by the Annenberg Political Fact Check said the increase in negative advertising is a result of a spike in advertising by party committees. Since Labor Day, 91% of the ads from the National Republican Congressional Committee for House candidates have been negative, while 81% of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ads have been negative. The report adds that that while both sides have been negative, there have been differences in tone, with Republicans "hitting below the belt."

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