Radio political advertising is already running far ahead of recent election cycles as midterm buying accelerates, with Kinetiq Political Insights reporting $73.5 million booked from January 1 through September 11.
That total is nearly double the $38.9 million radio had booked at the same point in the 2024 presidential cycle and more than double the $33 million recorded in the comparable stretch of the 2022 midterms. The bookings account for about 2.9% of the $2.5 billion in political advertising KPI has tracked so far across television, cable, and radio.
Radio’s share has recovered from 2.3% at this stage in 2024 and is approaching the 3.2% it held in the 2022 midterm period. KPI said radio “grew with the book, not against it,” so its slice of the market held even as overall political spending expanded. KPI now forecasts $230 million in radio political advertising for 2026 races, down from an April estimate of about $300 million. That revised radio total sits inside a still-stable broader outlook of roughly $12 billion for the full 2025–2026 political cycle, including $10.35 billion tied to this year’s contests. Broadcast television is projected at $4.88 billion, streaming and digital at $4.14 billion, and cable at $1.1 billion.
October remains the largest remaining sales window.