An election campaign is a communication process in which political parties and candidates send messages to citizens to persuade them to go to the polls and vote for them. At the same time, political parties have at their disposal a wide range of various means and methods of communication. However, regardless of the development of technology and the media itself, as well as ever-expanding availability of various forms of advertising, the interpersonal communication channel has remained an important tool in election campaigns, especially when it comes to local elections. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions, not only economically, but also socially. Consequently, it became more challenging for political parties to present their candidates and programs during the pre-election period. This paper investigates the extent to which Croatian political parties could have relied upon donations from individuals and companies in election campaigns during COVID-19 pandemic, compared to campaigns for local elections held four years earlier. In addition, it investigates the extent to which Croatian political parties had used advertising in election campaigns during COVID-19 pandemic, compared to campaigns for local elections held four years earlier. Based on the conducted research, it can be concluded that political parties in Croatia experienced a decrease in both share and absolute amount of donations during pandemic, but simultaneously have had an increase in cost of advertising, both in share and absolute amount.