Midterm Ad Spending Hits $11.21 Billion, Edging Past 2024 Presidential Cycle

Political advertisers have spent or reserved $11.21 billion ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms, according to tracking firm AdImpact. The total exceeds the $11.2 billion spent during the full 2024 presidential election cycle.

Todd Belt, a political management professor at George Washington University, said the late-campaign surge reflects pricing. "It's not just that a lot of money is being spent, it's that it's very expensive to advertise this late in the campaign," he said.

Senate contests in Texas and Ohio have pushed the spending higher. AdImpact reports more than $560 million spent or booked in Texas, a record for a nonpresidential race, while Ohio has topped $500 million. Only three nonpresidential races have crossed that mark, including Ohio's 2024 Senate race.

Republicans have booked about $5.18 billion in ads against $4.77 billion for Democrats, according to AdImpact. RNC chief of staff Mike Ambrosini told The New York Times the party plans to spend before Nov. 3: "There's no saving money for a rainy day. Whatever we can get that can be deployed is going to be deployed."

DNC Chair Ken Martin pointed to small-dollar donors as a measure of interest. "When you have hundreds of thousands of contributors who are giving 5, 10, 15 dollars, they're very excited. That is one indicator of enthusiasm," he said.

Federal Election Commission filings show Elon Musk has given nearly $450 million to Republican causes this cycle. George Soros and Michael Bloomberg have each given less, at about $102 million and $84 million respectively.

Belt told Gray Media's Washington Bureau the contest could show whether spending or messaging carries more weight. "It's almost a perfect natural experiment, where the Republicans have the money and the Democrats have the voice against the administration," he said.