House Ad Wars Ignite Early As Democrats, GOP Pour Millions Into Key Races.

Six months until Election Day, the first big wave of House advertising bookings has begun. The ad tracking firm AdImpact reports the Democratic group House Majority PAC has booked $190.2 million worth of advertising time, with dollars going into 61 different media markets. Meanwhile, the Republican-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund has reserved $136.6 million worth of ad time in 36 markets.

Those numbers are certain to climb higher in the coming months, especially as Democrats believe they can take control of the House in November, while the GOP works to hold onto its razor-thin majority.

The House Majority PAC announced two weeks ago that it was preparing to place $272 million in initial ad reservations for the 2026 cycle across 68 media markets, marking the largest early investment in the organization’s history. Nearly 80% of these reservations are in offensive districts — underscoring Democrat’s plan to expand the House battlefield and putting more seats in play than ever before.

“Democrats are firmly on offense heading into November,” said PAC President Mike Smith. The spending includes $80 million on digital ad reservation. That is the PAC’s largest digital advertising reservation in its history, double its $40 million reservation in 2024.

The Republican-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund has announced it will spend $153.1 million across 38 markets.

“This initial reserve reflects the reality that this cycle, again, will be fought on a narrow map,” PAC President Chris Winkelman said. “This reserve shows we are committed to defending our own while aggressively supporting our candidates on offense.”

While political pundits suggest Democrats could also win control of the Senate in November, there is no sign of GOP retreat. AdImpact data shows there is currently $248.9 million booked in fall reservations targeting Senate elections nationwide — and Republican advertisers account for $222.7 million of that total. Republicans have reserved their biggest ad buys in Ohio ($52.3M), North Carolina ($37.5M), Maine ($30.6M), Iowa ($28.1M), Georgia ($25.6M), Michigan ($25.3M), New Hampshire ($12.9M), and Alaska ($10.6M).

At the same time, Democrats have $26.1 million in place for their Senate candidates, with the biggest reservations in Maine ($18.1M), New Hampshire ($7.6M), and Alaska ($360,000).

Federal races may drive spending in the months to come, but during April it was California’s gubernatorial race that was the most active. AdImpact says $112.4 million was spent on political ads in the state last month, topping all other state spending. Los Angeles was also the market where the most money was spent, totaling $49.2 million. Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer’s campaign spent the most, investing $39.6 million on ads during April as he looks to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The California gubernatorial primary in pace to be a record-breaker as it has surpassed $200 million in total ad spending and reservations. “It is now the most expensive non-presidential primary on record and is closing in on becoming the most expensive gubernatorial race on record,” says an AdImpact update. The record is currently held by Illinois, where $215.2 million was spent in 2022’s gubernatorial race.

A hint of the impact that congressional races will have this year is coming from Georgia. The state had $45.5 million of political ads last month, of which $24.6 million was in the Atlanta market. Not only is Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp being term-limited, but incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) faces a yet-to-be-decided Republican challenger.

As a result, AdImpact says Georgia has seen $204.6 million in total ad spending and reservations this cycle through the end of April. That includes $114 million spent on the governor’s race, making it the fourth most expensive gubernatorial primary on record. The analysis shows Republican advertisers have accounted for 98% of the total.

Nationwide, AdImpact says $3.24 million has been spent so far this year cycle. That is up from $2.14 billion at this point four years ago. April’s tally was $434.6 million, a 24% increase from April 2022.