Mid-term election campaign ad spending has passed the half-billion mark ($557M) with five months to go before November. Nearly $400 million has been spent on Senate campaign ads in five battleground states, with the Senate race in Pennsylvania accounting for more than $100 million of the total.
According to the Ad Age Campaign Scoreboard, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, and Nevada have received $389 million in campaign ad spending across radio, TV, and digital advertising from Dec. 28, 2021, through May 11. The ad spending includes advanced bookings of media space by the candidates’ campaigns as well as ads booked by various PACs for the candidates they support.
The findings also reveal that Republicans are outspending Democrats by wide margins in Pennsylvania ($67 million vs. $38 million) and Ohio ($57 million vs. $13 million). However, in Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, Democrats are outspending Republicans. In Georgia, Dems have spent $61 million compared to $31 million invested by the Grand Old Party. In Arizona, the difference is $49 million to $16 million, and in Nevada, it's $45 million to $12 million.
The more than $100 million spent on campaign ads in Pennsylvania is largely due to spending by PACs, with the pro-Democrat Senate Majority PAC, spending $26 million on advertising; the pro-Republican Senate Leadership Fund, dropping $19 million; and the pro-Republican Honor Pennsylvania PAC booking $17 million worth of ads.
Pennsylvania has no incumbent as Senator Pat Toomey (R) is not seeking reelection. Republican hopefuls – former TV doctor Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick –have each spent more than $10 million to become the Republican candidate. Additionally, political commentator Kathy Barnette, who is running on the Republican ticket, has been the focus of a reported $2 million in ads from the pro-MAGA PAC Club for Growth.
The Pennsylvania primary was held May 17, which whittled the field down to one candidate for each party.
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