Trump’s Big Bill Fight Boosts Political Ad Spend To $755 Million.

President Trump has said his so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” package of tax and spending priorities will spur economic growth. Time will tell how that plays out for the U.S. overall, but the fight over the legislation has already produced a windfall for media outlets. The ad tracking firm AdImpact says more than $75.3 million in ad spending from 29 different advertisers was spent since April 1 advocating on behalf of its passage or calling for it to be rejected. The latest numbers available show that more was spent to support its approval than against it, by a $40 million to $35 million gap.

AdImpact says nearly one in every four ad dollars targeting the legislation has come from Securing American Greatness. The Republican group spent more than $17 million on ads across 22 different congressional districts designed to put pressure on GOP lawmakers in battleground districts to go along with the President’s proposal. It did that by praising those Republicans who were onboard and criticizing Democrats against the bill.

No politician had more ad money targeting him than Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). The report shows $3.8 million was spent to try to convince Tillis to support the bill, an effort that ultimately failed. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) ranked third, with $1.9 million in ad spending targeting her. Like Tillis, Collins also wound up voting against the bill.

But backers had more luck with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who emerged as their second-biggest target with $2 million in targeted ads. Ernst voted for the legislation.

AdImpact says it was a Democrat in the House, not a Republican, who received the most ad pressure related to the bill. It reports Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) had $1.4 million of ads on the air alerting her swing district that she was against Trump’s proposal. Michigan Democrat Kristin Rivet was also hit with $1.2 million of ads critical of her stand.

The fight has helped to lift overall political ad spending in a typically quieter off-election year. Through midyear, AdImpact says $755 million in ad time has either been aired or reserved for elections being held through November 2026.

The biggest overall race so far is the New Jersey Governor’s race, where $90 million has been spent to date on the primaries and general election. It is followed by $80 million spent ahead of March’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election. The New York City mayor’s race ranks third, with $38 million spent.

The combination of a mayor’s race and a gubernatorial battle has resulted in the New York market capturing $112 million in political ads so far. The Philadelphia media market has also pocketed $26 million, mostly from the New Jersey governor’s race. Other big markets for political spending include Washington, which has had $76 million in mostly issue-related ads. Los Angeles ($7 million) and Atlanta ($6.8 million) have also been active.

AdImpact says broadcast television and digital are neck-in-neck, with each receiving an estimated 27% share of ad dollars so far, with cable TV (26%), CTV (17%), radio (3%) splitting the remainder, according to its AdMo ad monitoring tool.