The 2026 midterm elections are set to become the most expensive on record, as Republicans pour cash into battleground races to defy history and maintain control of Congress.
Political advertising spending for this year surpassed $10 billion in October, marking an all-time high, according to media tracking group AdImpact, driven by record spending in states such as Ohio, Texas, and Maine. The previous midterm spending record from 2022 was $8.9 billion.
In the 2026 elections, Republicans are often being far outraised by their Democratic rivals, who are raking in large donations for their campaigns in states such as Texas. But Democrats are often being far outspent by Republicans, who benefit from outside spending from super PACs and other entities.
The influx of money being poured into races is no guarantee of victory for either party, experts say.
“It is important to keep in mind that having the most, and spending the most, does not guarantee you win,” Brendan Glavin, the director of insights at the research group OpenSecrets, told Time. “You need to have enough to compete, and you need to be able to get your name out, and people need to know who you are. But it’s not always about having the most.”
The political war to determine which party will control the Senate during the remainder of President Donald Trump’s second term has fueled record spending and donations. Experts suggest Democrats are in a prime spot to regain the majority in the midterm elections on Nov. 3, as on average, the party in power, in this case the Republican Party, loses about 25 seats in the upper chamber during the off-year elections.
Republicans have spent a total of $1.6 billion on ad spending in this year’s Senate races. Democrats have spent $1.1 billion, and independents have spent $136 million, according to AdImpact data published by Newsweek.
Texas, where Republican Ken Paxton is battling Democrat James Talarico, leads the way at $501 million.
“Political professionals from both parties understand that losing Texas would be a crippling blow to the Republican Party nationally,” said Calvin Jillson, a political science professor at Texas’s Southern Methodist University. “Republican Texas leads the attack on Democrat administrations in Washington, anchors the party in Congress, and is absolutely indispensable to carrying the Electoral College in presidential elections.”
Ohio, which features Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) campaigning against Democrat Sherrod Brown, is next at $452 million.
Michigan has poured $297 million into the race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul el Sayed. Maine has spent $259 million in the race featuring Sen. Susan Collins’s (R-ME) battle for reelection against Troy Jackson. Iowa has seen $207 million in ad spending as Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) seeks to defeat Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek.
Both parties are spending roughly equal amounts on ads in the Iowa and Michigan Senate races. But in other states, the differences are stark, particularly in Ohio and Texas, where Republicans have outspent Democrats by a wide margin.
When examining which state’s Senate campaigns lead the country in advertising spending per voting-age resident, Maine is first at $167 per person, followed by Alaska, where Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is fending off an intense challenge from Democrat Mary Peltola.
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks during a midterm election rally, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
" data-large-file="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26277064888259.jpg?w=1024" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26277064888259.jpg?w=1024" alt="Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks during a midterm election rally, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Vandalia, Ohio." class="wp-image-4778223" srcset="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26277064888259.jpg 1024w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26277064888259.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AP26277064888259.jpg?resize=768,512 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) speaks during a midterm election rally, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
In campaigns for the lower chamber, Michigan’s 7th Congressional District leads the way as the most expensive House race nationwide in terms of political advertising. Spending has topped $61 million in the race, marking $11 million more than the next most expensive House race, according to AdImpact data.
New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, where Democrat Rebecca Bennett is trying to unseat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), has also attracted more than $29 million in funding. Bennett has raised more money than Kean, but the Republican has an edge in support garnered from outside spending.
Around $26 million is on track to be spent on the race in Florida’s 25th Congressional District, where Republican Scott Singer is targeting Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). There, Singer is hoping to convince voters that Moskowitz is aligned with a party headed in the direction of socialism, despite the congressman’s relatively centrist positions.
“So many of the Latino and Hispanic voters in this district fled socialism and communism. So for them to see the leftward lean and the DSA being embraced,” he told Punchbowl News. “They’re concerned.”
Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District has emerged as another cash hole. Democrat Rebecca Cooke and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) have seen $25.2 million poured into ad spending between the primary and general election, and their campaigns spent millions more before the primary.
When it comes to governor’s races, states such as Minnesota, Iowa, and California are seeing the most expensive governor’s races on record.
California’s gubernatorial race, featuring Republican Steve Hilton against Democrat Xavier Becerra, had become the most expensive gubernatorial campaign in U.S. history by June, before the primary was even held, with nearly $316 million being spent on TV, streaming, and digital ads.
In Ohio, where Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is hoping to defeat Democrat Amy Acton, the race has fueled $248.2 million in ad buys alone for both campaigns, according to AdImpact.
In Minnesota, where a Republican hasn’t won a statewide race in 20 years, GOP candidate Lisa Demuth is looking to flip the seat red in her campaign against Democrat Amy Klobuchar. The gubernatorial race is now the most expensive in Minnesota history, with Demuth benefiting from over $10 million in funding and Klobuchar garnering around $15 million by mid-September, according to MPR News.
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Iowa’s gubernatorial race is also now the most expensive in state history. Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn directly raised a combined $81 million for their campaigns by late October, shattering the previous record of $36 million from the 2018 election. Sand has raised more than twice as much as Lahn.
When it comes to outside spending, Lahn has benefited from around $15 million in funding, compared to Sand’s roughly $7 million.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
