Radio Pulls $17.8 Million In Political Ad Spend So Far In 2025.

Expectations for political advertising spending are likely not particularly high in most market managers’ budgets this year, but nevertheless money is coming in — albeit in a very localized way. A new analysis from AdImpact says $17.8 million has been spent on radio by political candidates and their allies so far this year.

The ad tracking firm says radio has a roughly 4% share of the $444 million that has been spent through the start of May. That is a third more than what AdImpact reported at the beginning of April. It reports $192 million has been spent on 2025 races, while $252 million has been spent on races that won’t be decided until 2026. Four in five dollars have been spent by issue groups, with candidates making up the rest.

The biggest surprise in what has been spent is that it is digital media — not a segment of television — that has captured the most dollars. The report says digital has a 29% share to date, or $128.8 million in total political dollars. Cable television has the second-largest share at 26%, followed by broadcast TV (24%) and CTV (16%).

The April Wisconsin Supreme Court election accounts for the largest spending total, with $80 million spent on ads in that race. The upcoming June 10 New Jersey gubernatorial primary race is second at $57 million. The latter has pumped $54 million of ads into the New York market, plus $14 million for Philadelphia media outlets. Rep. Josh Gottheimer accounts for the most spending at $19 million, followed by backers of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who have spent $15 million. Yet with a lot of spending focused on lawmakers in Washington, AdImpact says despite no election in the market, it has tracked $40 million spent in the metro area.

There are also dollars coming to stations from the federal government. AdImpact says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has also spent $21 million on commercials talking about its enforcement efforts and urging undocumented immigrants to self-deport.