Broadcast and digital ad spending has already reached $4.7 billion this election cycle, with Republicans outspending Democrats by just $400,000, according to AdImpact and a Puck report. The total includes primary contests and is on track to surpass $5 billion by Election Day. It already exceeds the $4.3 billion spent in the entire 2024 cycle, which featured a presidential race.
Most of the money is coming from PACs, primarily the parties’ affiliated House and Senate groups. F.E.C. filings expected next week should reveal more about the super PAC donors behind the spending; Elon Musk is already known to be among them.
Ad spending in the Texas Senate race alone has hit $500 million this cycle, AdImpact data shows. That figure includes the record-breaking Republican primary between Sen. John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, which accounts for $378 million of the Republican total—far more than the party expected to spend in a solidly red state. The number is expected to climb further in the weeks ahead, in part because of Musk.