Two weeks after topping $5 billion, AdImpact says the 2024 election cycle has now surpassed the $6 billion mark. Through Sept. 27, the ad tracking firm reports that $6.15 billion has been spent since the cycle began over a year ago. That compares with $4.7 billion in spending at this point in the election cycle four years ago.
Over the last two weeks, AdImpact tracked $793.2 million in political ads. While Philadelphia gained the most ad dollars in the prior two weeks, this time it is the battleground state of Michigan that comes out on top. AdImpact says with $41 million in political ads, no market has been inundated by political ads to the level of Detroit.
Philadelphia is still awash in political spending, ranking second with $38.4 million spent during the past two weeks, according to AdImapct’s tabulations. Phoenix ranks third, at $36.9 million.
Vice President Kamala Harris remained the biggest individual spender overall, as her record-breaking fundraising totals have left her with plenty of cash to take to the airwaves. The latest update shows the Harris campaign spent $78.8 million nationwide during the past two weeks. WinSenate, an arm of the Senate Majority PAC that supports Democratic candidates, ranked second, with $50.5 million in spending, followed by the Future Forward, a Democratic Party-aligned super PAC, which spent $40.6 million.
AdImpact reported earlier this month that 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 to tens of millions of dollars in spending for radio in the coming weeks in the Presidential race alone.
Looking ahead, AdImpact predicts spending in down-ballot races will remain robust. It says through Election Day, there is $477 million in reserved House spending, with two-thirds of it being spent in districts where the outcome is seen as a toss-up. It says across the 24 toss-up elections, Democratic advertisers hold a $6 million spending advantage.
In battleground Senate ad spending, Republican advertisers continue to hold a future reservation advantage in Ohio and Pennsylvania, while Democrats maintain advantages in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
AdImpact projects a record-breaking $10.69 billion will be spent on advertising during the 2024 election cycle. If that figure proves accurate, it would be a 19% increase from the $9.02 billion spent during the 2020 cycle. The ad tracking firm predicts radio’s share of spending this cycle will be 3.5%, adding up to about $381 million.
Comments