Vote 2010 Election: Has Negative Campaigning Gone Too Far This Year?

Nov. 1, 2010— -- Turn on a television or open a Web browser these days, and you can't avoid the negative campaign ads that have dominated the dialogue in the run-up to the midterm elections.

Researchers say that political spending on ads has spiked to an all-time high of $3 billion this year.

Plenty of that money has been spent on ads that cast candidates in the worst possible light -- such as an ad touting "Sharron Angle's Crazy Juice" -- and twist facts to contort a politician's record. Much of the spending has come from the candidates themselves, but third-party ads have also flooded the airwaves.

Some of the only people celebrating are the local TV stations that are reeling in the ad spending. Ad rates have gone up as candidates have fought to grab last-minute airtime.

"The money is much stronger than we anticipated, and we thought it would be pretty big," said Chris Bailey, manager of WOLO-TV in Columbia, S.C.

Our question to you today: Has negative campaigning gone too far in this year's election?

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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