It’s not your vote that Biden and Trump seek on Florida’s social media. So what is it?

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have not been spending money to ask for Floridians’ votes. But they are desperate for your help.

“Without you, we’d be done for,” read a May Facebook advertisement shown to Floridians in which Trump’s campaign asks for $29 to “(keep) the lights on for our campaign.”

“Folks, you know I hate to ask,” a campaign ad for Biden read before asking Facebook and Instagram users for donations.

Florida residents scrolling through social media were far more likely in the first half of this year to see Biden and Trump asking for their money than asking for their vote. The candidates asked for donations in 97% of their ads shown to Floridians on Facebook or Instagram this year, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis of over 10,000 records from Meta’s platform from Jan. 1 to mid-June.

In a sign of how Florida is no longer a swing state, ads seeking residents’ votes have plummeted. Meanwhile, Biden and Trump have spent significantly less overall on Facebook ads here than they did in the same period in 2020, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

The data analyzed excludes any ads run since Biden’s debate performance last week that stirred concerns among Democrats about his suitability as a candidate.

Florida is tilting red more than ever. Biden in April said Florida was “winnable” after the state Supreme Court allowed an amendment to protect abortion rights to appear on the 2024 ballot. However, Biden has spent less on Facebook ads in Florida while ramping up expenditures in states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to Abe Yousef, an analyst at Sensor Tower. Last month, Biden campaign chairperson Jen O’Malley Dillon said Florida is not a battleground state.

Trump has also been spending less of his Facebook ad budget in Florida than he did in 2020, Sensor Tower data shows. Republican political consultant Steven Hilding of McShane LLC said that makes sense, given that Biden’s team likely won’t be focused on the state this year.

“If I were President Trump, I would not be spending a whole lot on digital advertising outside of fundraising right now because it doesn’t seem like Florida is going to be that competitive,” he said.

But Florida is a ripe target for donor ads. It’s among the top three target states for political advertisements because of its large population and number of wealthy donors, according to Travis Ridout, a director at Wesleyan Media Project. So far this election season, campaigns have directed fundraising ads to Florida, while almost entirely directing persuasion advertisements online to voters in swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, Ridout said.

“Floridians are being asked to donate to pay for ads — both digital and TV — that are aimed at convincing voters outside the state,” Ridout said.

Political experts say early advertising often focuses on fundraising. Still, the Trump and Biden campaigns have solicited money at higher rates in Florida than during the same period in the last presidential election season.

As of mid-June 2020, less than half of Facebook and Instagram ads from Biden and Trump shown in Florida asked for money. Instead, the majority of advertisements in that cycle focused on drawing out voters on issues including abortion, incarceration and race. (Unlike this year, Biden in 2020 faced a competitive Democratic primary.)

Florida voters have been much more likely to see ads from Biden than Trump this election, according to a Times analysis of Facebook estimates of ad views on its platforms. This is because Biden initially raised more money while Trump was distracted by his court trials, according to Sean Foreman, the chairperson of the History & Political Science department at Barry University.

Foreman said the Biden campaign has been running digital ads in Florida to show that they have a presence in part because it’s not making as many physical appearances.

“For Democrats, there’s a concern that they’re not doing enough in Florida. And so I think that’s their Band-Aid to at least show that they’re continuously advertising,” Foreman said.

Steve Schale, a Democratic political strategist, said Florida is receiving less attention than it has in past presidential elections, a sign the Biden campaign might have charted some pathways to victory that don’t include the state.

“You might call it a second tier or a tier B state at this point,” Schale said.