Political Ad Spending Surges As Battle Shifts To Fall Campaign.

With results still being counted in Tuesday’s voting, the primary calendar is winding down and attention is turning to the general election — and the ads that come with it. The ad-tracking firm AdImpact says more than a half-billion dollars already reserved for eight battleground Senate races in the coming months.

AdImpact says $549 million in fall reservations is now targeting the eight competitive Senate contests it is tracking. Republican advertisers have the advantage in six, underscoring how aggressively both parties and their allies are locking down inventory as they fight for control of the chamber. And there is plenty more money waiting to hit the airwaves.

Ohio is shaping up as the biggest advertising battlefield. AdImpact’s reservation tracker shows Republicans with $77.9 million booked in the Senate race and Democrats with $69.1 million — nearly $150 million combined.

North Carolina isn’t far behind, with $53.2 million reserved on the Republican side and $51.4 million by Democrats. Maine has $46.4 million in Republican reservations versus $26.4 million for Democrats, while Republicans also lead in Iowa, Michigan and Alaska.

Democrats have the advantage in two races. They have $35 million reserved in Georgia compared with $26.2 million for Republicans, and $17 million in New Hampshire versus $13.1 million on the GOP side.

Overall, Republican’s Senate Leadership Fund has booked $205 million in fall reservations, while the Democrat’s WinSenate has $184 million lined up.

Candidates themselves are adding millions more to the pipeline. Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff booked more than $15 million in future reservations earlier this week. He joins North Carolina Democrat Roy Cooper, with $19.1 million booked, Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown at $17 million and New Hampshire Democrat Chris Pappas at $7.7 million. On the Republican side, Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson has $3.8 million in future reservations, while Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall has $3.7 million booked.

Texas is the notable exception to the spending rush. AdImpact says there are currently no fall reservations targeting its Senate race.

Overall, AdImpact reports $5.23 billion has been spent so far in the 2026 election cycle though Aug. 14. That is more than a third more than the $3.88 billion that was spent at this point in the 2022 midterm election. During the two weeks ended Aug. 14, it reports $317.4 million in political advertising aired.

Ohio led all states with $37.2 million during the two-week period, followed by Florida ($34.7 million) and Georgia ($23.7 million). Atlanta was the biggest individual market at $14.1 million, followed by Cleveland at $10.5 million and Detroit at $9 million.

Some of that money is being generated well outside the marquee Senate contests. AdImpact says Florida saw $113 million targeting its primaries, its biggest primary-election spending total since 2018. The governor's primary alone has generated $45.5 million in spending and reservations, almost entirely from Republican advertisers.

Even Wyoming is breaking records. The state’s at-large House primary has attracted $8.2 million in spending and reservations, making it the most expensive election in state history. That tops the previous record of $6.1 million from the 2022 primary in which Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) defeated Liz Cheney.

Because ad spending has been so robust, AdImpact is now projecting a record $11.6 billion in political ad spending this cycle. That would top the $11.2 billion spent during the 2024 election cycle. Radio is expected to capture $273 million in the current estimates. And while radio’s share remains largely unchanged from the past, stations stand to gain from the record levels of spending anticipated during the current election cycle.