BY Kathy Crosett
Key political battles are shaping up for the 2026 midterm elections. These events, as candidates try to win Congressional House and Senate seats, require significant political campaign advertising spending at the local level. Nearly 14 months remain before voters cast their ballots. But political parties and candidates are already buying ads.
How Much Will Be Spent on Midterm Election Ads?
The 2026 political cycle, also known as the midterms, will likely result in ad spending of $10.8B. AdImpact’s research on this topic also points out that this spending will be 20% higher than the last midterm cycle in 2022. For comparison purposes, the total spending for the last presidential election in 2024 was $11.2B. Of that amount, $3.2B was attributed to the battle for the office of the president.
Candidates, political parties and other influencers of election results will not be waiting until January 1 to begin buying ads. They’ve already started. In fact, they’ve spent $900M this year. Analysts point out that the spending has started earlier than ever in this cycle.
Which Media Formats Will See the Heaviest Spending?
In analyzing the expected political campaign advertising between now and the end of the election cycle, AdImpact analysts highlighted multiple media formats. Here are their projections for political campaign advertising for 2025–2026.
CTV
This media format is likely to capture $2.48B in ad spending. That’s significantly more than the 2024 $2.34B on CTV in the 2024 election cycle. CTV will be “the only media type to see increased spending over the 2024 cycle.”
Broadcast TV
Broadcast TV will capture about $5.25B in local advertising. That level is slightly under the $5.36B level of 2024. However, broadcast TV will account for around 49% of the total spending, maintaining its dominance for this event.
Cable TV
With anticipated spending of $1.29B, cable TV will account for around 10.5% of the total spending in this cycle. AdImpact analysts emphasize that local cable TV “remains an important part of the media mix, particularly in House and downballot races.” (Downballot refers to local official elections such as mayors, select boards, sheriffs, etc.)
Digital
In this category, AdImpact lists paid social media. The projected spending for 2026 is $1.43B.
Radio
Radio media sales will amount to $280M for the midterm elections. Spending by small, local campaign frequently drive demand for radio media space. Historically, the format captures around 3% of the total.
Which Campaigns Will Spend the Most?
In a midterm election, political campaign advertising will focus on both types of Congressional seats. The upcoming election is expected to be particularly contentious. The major political parties have already engaged in redistricting in some regions. They hope this strategy will improve their chances of holding onto a seat or gaining one.
Analysts believe heavy ad spending will follow. Here’s the anticipated breakout spending by type of seat.
Senate
In the next 14 months, ad spending to sway voter opinions for contested Senate seats will likely amount to $2.8B. The ad spending in each campaign will vary based on how likely the seat is to go to a Democrat or Republican. Of the roughly 100 Senate seats, around 37 will be voted on in 2026 — resulting in an average ad spend of $75 million per seat.
House
For the first time ever, political campaign advertising to elect candidates to the U.S. House will exceed $2B. Specifically, the races will result in $2.2B. With all 435 seats being contested in 2026, average spending will be $5M. But seats that are not likely to result in a change in political party will not involve as much advertising.
Downballot and Governors
Political advertising spending in the downballot category “includes all political expenditures for races or issues that are not federal or gubernatorial. In the midterm election cycle, around $3.9B will be spent on this category.
And for governors’ races, spending will amount to $1.9B. This spending will span both primary and general election advertising.
Summary
Not every eligible voter participates in the election process. But your accounts need to understand which types of voters respond to ads they see in various media formats. AudienceSCAN from AdMall contains profiles of more than 10 different types of voters in the U.S. Research their attitudes, behavior and responses to advertising. And then put together a proposal to sell more media to the political campaign advertising planners in your market.
Image on Pexels by Lara Jameson.
