‘Call Your Congressman’ Ad Spending Hits New Record.

There seems to be no let-up in the amount of money flowing into political advertising. The ad tracking firm AdImpact reports $548.4 million has been spent so far this year on political ads. That is a 77% increase from four years ago, when 2021 proved to be a far quieter so-called “off year” for elections.

AdImpact says one factor is the amount of ad spending directed toward members of the U.S. House, typically in the form of ads urging their constituents to call their members of Congress. Through the end of May, it says $18.2 million has been spent on traditional media ads for House-directed ads — a new record. By comparison, the firm says in 2021 it logged $9 million in similar spending, and two years ago the tally at this point was $5.7 million.

While Democrats have been busy protesting, Republicans have been advertising, the data shows. AdImpact says of the money spent, GOP advertisers have spent $11.1 million, compared to Democratic advertisers’ $7.1 million.

That partisan gap likely has to do with the fact that Republicans control Congress, and outside groups have been taking to the airwaves pushing lawmakers to pass the budget bill supported by the White House. The “big, beautiful bill” as President Trump calls it, has not only spending and budget cuts, but also policy changes that have the interest of outside groups. The result, AdImpact says, is that they’re spending money on advertising. It says the list includes groups such as American Energy Action, which has spent $12.6 million to date, alongside the Trump-backed PAC Securing American Greatness, which has spent $7.2 million, and American Action Network, which has spent $3.8 million.

Not all spending is directed at people already in office. AdImpact says off-year spending for upcoming elections also continues at a record pace. It has tracked $564 million in political ad spending and reservations in the first half of 2025. That is already $104 million more than in 2024.

One place where ad dollars are flowing is Virginia, which will elect a new governor this year. AdImpact says spending has been modest so far — just $2.1 million total spending, as Democratic Abigail Spanberger bought her first TV ads last week.

Things are a lot more active in the New Jersey gubernatorial primary, which has seen $78.6 million in spending and reservations. AdImpact says that tally makes it the third-most expensive gubernatorial primary on record as only Illinois in 2022 ($148.3 million) and Florida in 2018 ($112.9 million) have seen more spent in a primary. The New Jersey primary will be held June 10, and in a state where Democrats usually win, the analysis shows 88% of the spending has come from Democrats.

New York City will hold its mayoral primary on June 24, and while AdImpact says it is unlikely to match the $60 million spent four years ago when nearly $60 million was spent — the tally this year is up to $16.6 million.

Elsewhere, there has also been some early spending in the 2026 Georgia U.S. Senate race where Republicans will try to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff. AdImpact says it has already logged $10 million in spending and reservations, the first Senate race to ever hit that milestone through June of an off-year.