More Presidential Ad Dollars Flowing To Radio In 2024 Than In The Past.

With a lackluster primary season and one of the major parties switching candidates before the election, it has been an atypical campaign season. It has also been an especially good one for radio when it comes to the White House contest. In terms of radio’s share of ad dollars, AdImpact says stations have done better than usual in 2024.

AdImpact says radio has captured 8% of the dollars spent in the Presidential election. That may sound small, but because of the size of the spending — $573 million has already been spent — the dollars quickly add up. An 8% share totals more than $26.8 million for radio. And with another $573 million of ad time booked through Election Day in the Presidential race, if that budget share holds it could mean more than $45 million for radio in the coming weeks in the Presidential race alone.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest share of Presidential ad dollars has gone to broadcast television. AdImpact says broadcast TV has pocketed three of every four (74%) dollars spent. Cable TV takes another 17%, while satellite TV services add another 1% to the overall television line.

The latest update from AdImpact shows that as of Sept. 5, Vice President Kamala Harris has had the most ad support. Since July 21, ads worth $376 million have aired supporting her, with another $333 million worth reserved through Election Day. Former President Trump has had $288 million of ad support since July, with another $164 million already booked for the coming weeks. The markets with the largest amount of spending are Philadelphia ($65 million), Atlanta ($59 million), Detroit ($53 million), Phoenix ($44 million), and Pittsburgh ($37 million).

Beyond the Presidential race, AdImpact says seven contested U.S. Senate races are where the big dollars have been spent, and where scores of ads are booked to run. They include contests in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The next largest race is California Prop 33, where $35 million has been spent on the ballot measure related to whether rent control laws should be repealed.

The largest House race is in Michigan, where Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is looking to defend a challenge from Republican Tom Barrett. So far, $27 million has been spent on that race.

AdImpact says the priciest statewide race is the North Carolina Attorney General contest, where $24 million has been spent. And the largest gubernatorial race is also in North Carolina, where $19 million has been spent.

Using its AdMo data, AdImpact says across all races nationwide, the top issues in ads over the last two weeks are the economy, mentioned in ads totaling $42 million, followed by crime ($38 million) and abortion ($33 million).