After more than a billion dollars was spent last month on political ads, the total spent in the 2024 election cycle has now tipped past the $5 billion mark. The ad tracking firm AdImpact reports $5.26 billion has been spent through Sept. 13. That is a 31% increase compared to what was spent at this point during the last presidential cycle year of 2020.
In the latest update, AdImpact says it tracked $567.7 million in political ads, representing an acceleration in the spending, which had been expected following Labor Day. The swing states are where the biggest totals are being recorded. The firm says it tracked $34.8 million in political ads in the Philadelphia market during the past two weeks, with Detroit ($31.1 million), and Phoenix ($27.6 million) close behind.
The post-Presidential debate spending has been especially robust. AdImpact says the two biggest spenders across the country have been Vice President Kamala Harris, whose campaign spent $69.2 million in the past two weeks, with former President Trumps’s campaign coming in second, with $31.6 million of ads recorded. That gap reflects a larger trend seen by AdImpact. It says Democratic advertisers currently hold a spending advantage over Republicans in every Presidential swing state.
Through Election Day, the firm’s numbers show Pennsylvania has seen the most Presidential money, with $137.9 million in total spending. It says pro-Harris ads total more than $15 million more than pro-Trump ads there. In Michigan, Democrats have a $21 million spending advantage, and a $9 million advantage in Georgia. In Nebraska’s second congressional district, which could potentially provide a tie-breaking vote in the Electoral College, AdImpact says pro-Harris ads have totaled $6.1 million, while no pro-Trump ads have aired so far.
The latest update also shows that through Election Day, pro-Harris spending among issue groups makes up two-thirds of total spending by outside groups. AdImpact says groups backing Harris have already reserved ad time worth $182.9 million through Election Day.
It is not just the Presidential race driving spending. With control of the House hanging in the balance, spending on congressional races has also outpaced previous years. AdImpact says it has tracked $152 million in House races’ ad spending so far in 2024. That compares to $81 million spent at this point in 2022 and $98 million in 2020.
“With the increase in spending across the board, issue groups have spent $77 million between July 1st and today, the most we’ve tracked for House general elections in that timeframe,” AdImpact says in the latest update. “Overall, Democrats hold a $11.1 million spending advantage from now until October 1st as well,” it adds.
AdImpact says eight congressional races have had more than $5 million in ad spending so far — in New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, North Carolina, Colorado, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania, where districts are seen as toss-ups. It says Oregon is expected to see the most spending for any House race in the coming weeks based on current ad reservations.
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