Radio Political Spending Accelerates, With Biggest Weeks Ahead.

Radio is collecting an increasingly large share of the fall political advertising rush, with spending on the medium jumping by more than one-third in roughly a month as the election cycle enters its busiest stretch.

New AdImpact data shows $166 million has now been spent on political advertising on radio during the 2026 cycle, which includes 2025 spend figures. That’s up $42 million from the $124 million the firm reported in late August. It also continues a sharp acceleration from earlier in the summer.

The latest total from the ad-tracking firm puts radio about 61% of the way toward AdImpact’s $273 million full-cycle forecast, leaving roughly $107 million needed to reach that projection. With historical spending patterns showing political advertising climbing sharply through October, there remains plenty of opportunity for stations during the final weeks before Election Day.

Radio’s increase is part of an extraordinary burst of spending across the advertising market.

AdImpact says it has now tracked approximately $7.6 billion in political advertising across broadcast television, cable, radio, digital, satellite and connected TV during the current election cycle. That’s up from $6.1 billion when the company issued a similar snapshot a month ago, meaning approximately $1.5 billion has been added in about a month.

“This 2026 cycle continues to move fast,” AdImpact says in the update.

Broadcast television remains the largest recipient at $3.9 billion, followed by connected TV at $1.43 billion. Digital has collected $1.1 billion and cable $900 million, while radio’s $166 million remains well ahead of satellite’s $65 million.

AdImpact continues to forecast a record $11.6 billion political advertising cycle, exceeding both the $8.9 billion spent during the 2022 midterms and the $11.2 billion spent during the 2024 presidential cycle. If the forecast holds, roughly $4 billion of the expected full-cycle spending has yet to materialize.

The dollars continue to be concentrated in a relatively small group of markets, potentially making the final campaign weeks especially lucrative for local broadcasters in those areas.

Los Angeles leads with $295 million in political spending, followed by Washington at $242 million and Atlanta at $239 million. Detroit has now collected $218 million, while New York rounds out the five largest markets at $180 million.

Ohio remains one of the clearest examples of how political spending can transform a local advertising market. AdImpact says spending in the state’s Senate special election has now reached $370 million. The Texas Senate race is at $339 million, followed by the Georgia governor race at $258 million, Michigan Senate at $253 million and Maine Senate at $234 million.

The concentration of dollars can also put additional pressure on inventory available to regular commercial advertisers. AdImpact has previously warned that heavy political demand can tighten local media availability as campaigns compete for inventory during the final months of the election cycle.

Coordinated Spending Surges

Another increasingly important source of advertising dollars is coordinated buying by candidates and party committees. AdImpact says coordinated buys have now reached $270 million for the cycle. That’s more than triple the $86 million the company reported in its late-August snapshot.

The increase follows the Supreme Court’s June decision eliminating federal limits on coordinated party spending. AdImpact has previously said the ruling could create additional demand for broadcast inventory and affect the availability of airtime for stations’ core commercial advertisers.

Issue groups remain the largest advertiser category overall, however. They account for $4.87 billion in spending, while candidates have spent $2.48 billion.

Can Radio Beat Forecast?

The latest radio numbers make AdImpact’s $273 million forecast increasingly worth watching.

Radio has added $42 million since the late-August snapshot and needs another $107 million to reach the projection. That means stations have already collected more than three-fifths of their projected political revenue while the election cycle remains in the period when spending historically accelerates rapidly. AdImpact’s latest data doesn’t provide a separate forecast revision for radio, but the overall political ad market continues to expand rapidly.

“Even though it’s late in the cycle, we are heading into the busiest months,” AdImpact’s update says. “Our historical data shows that spending jumps in August and continues to climb through October.”