Gingrich also was the subject of a hard-hitting ad by Paul, which was titled "serial hypocrisy." In all, Paul has run 2,572 commercials, of which 1,310 were attack ads.
Freddie Mac Criticism
Criticism of Gingrich focused extensively on his appearance in a climate change advertisement with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and his $1.6 million in earnings as an advocate for Freddie Mac, seized by the government in 2008 after its stake in subprime loans pushed it to the brink of collapse.
By contrast, Gingrich had financed 1,215 commercials through Dec. 30, all of which were positive, according to the CMAG data.
The onslaught of negative attacks has coincided with a decline in support for Gingrich in polling. A Dec. 31 Des Moines Register Iowa Poll of likely caucus attendees put Gingrich in fifth place with 12 percent support; an Iowa Poll released on Dec. 3 had him in first place with 25 percent.
Gingrich, who has called the advertising targeted at him "dishonest," criticized his rivals at a town hall meeting Dec. 30 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Shameful Ads
"I would be ashamed to run some of the ads they are running and I will not participate in that kind of process," Gingrich said. "I can't be a witness to America's future while smearing my opponents and I would simply ask every Iowan before Tuesday night to ask yourself, 'Do you really want to reward the consultants, the lies, the negativeness, or do you want to say to the country, 'A brand new day has arrived.'"
Brittany Gross, a spokeswoman for the pro-Romney Restore Our Future committee, declined to comment. Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Romney, did not respond to a request for comment.
Romney defended the ads financed by Restore Our Future in a Dec. 21 interview on Fox News and said they helped bring down Gingrich's ratings.
Romney Defends Ads