Money Flowing
This is a midterm election year across the country, and as you might expect, money is flowing in for political advertising, according to the firm AdImpact, which tracks such things.
Political ad spending for the 2026 election cycle is projected to reach $10.8 billion, making it the most expensive midterm election in U.S. history. And through January, a fifth of that–just more than $2 billion–has already been spent. That’s a 46% increase vs. what was spent at this point during the 2022 midterm cycle.
The ad tracking firm says it recorded $121.6 million worth of political ads last month; that’s up 40% from four years earlier. The biggest total was in Texas, where $28.2 million of political ads across all media channels was recorded as the battle for a U.S. Senate seat heats up prior to a March 3 primary. That included $7.4 million in political ads in Houston last month alone, with another $7.1 million spent in Dallas.
With just under a month before that Texas primary, that has seen $79.4 million in ad spending and reservations through the end of last week. The vast majority is among Republicans, where $68.6 million has been spent vs. $10.8 million for the Democrats. Incumbent John Cornyn faces challenges from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Congressman Wesley Hunt, who has ties to Iowa. Cornyn is reportedly set to unleash a $10 million ad blitz leading into next month’s primary. And if the race goes to a runoff, even more money than is now expected will be spent.
AdImpact says there has also been plenty of spending in California, where a new governor will be elected in November with the state’s gubernatorial election garnering $35.2 million in spending to date. Most of that has come from San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent $30.8 million on ads and reservations; he followed a similar path during a run in the Iowa presidential caucuses a few cycles ago. Steyer is spending far more than his Democrat rivals.
But Illinois is also tracking to be one of the more active states this cycle. AdImpact says no market saw more political advertising in January than Chicago, where its tally shows $8.7 million was spent. AdImpact says Senate races in two other states — Louisiana and Maine — are also sparking some ad spending. In Louisiana, incumbent GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy will face a primary challenge from a Trump-backed candidate. In Maine, Democrats believe they have their best chance to finally beat incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who formally announced her re-election run yesterday.
And don’t forget Iowa, with an open seat for governor and U.S. Senate—it’s the only state in the country with open seats in both the governor and senate races, and that’s sure to draw lots of national attention…and money.
