A new study from AdImpact indicates that vast sums are flowing into swing-state broadcasters as more than $1.8 billion has been spent on political ads in the presidential races between Super Tuesday on March 5 and election day Nov. 5.
Overall, the study found that $2.6 billion had been spent on political ads since March 5 and overall spending was highest in Pennsylvania, with Democrats airing $261.9 million in ads and Republicans airing $232.4 million.
The data, which is based on AdImpact tracking 384 unique broadcast political ads that aired some 1.5 million times during the period, reinforces data from recent earnings reports from station groups, as Scripps reported record Q3 revenue based on record levels of political advertising, and a study from The Myers Report, which estimates U.S. political ad spending for the 2024 campaign will top $12 billion.
The $12 billion figure—a 33% increase over the 2019-2020 election campaign—is part of an overall estimate of $18.2 billion that will be spent on reported and unreported political marketing investments during this election cycle, according to the Myers Report.
The massive spending levels in swing states are particularly evident the data for the last 60 days.
The AdImpact study found in the last 60 days alone, Pennsylvania led among the swing states with $264 million spent by presidential candidates and the groups backing them, followed by Michigan ($151 million), Georgia ($137 million), North Carolina ($109 million) and Arizona ($91 million).
Since July 22, Democratic groups spent $1.37 billion overall on the presidential race, giving them a $171 million advantage over Republican groups, with the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris campaign spending $646.3 million versus $358.8 million by the campaign of former Preasident Donald Trump.
AdImpact also found that digital spending for political ads since July 22 hit $420 million, making up 18% of total presidential-campaign spending. Outside of X (formerly Twitter), Democratic advertisers have held significant spending advantages across social media platforms, the researcher said.
