The total bill for ad spending in the 2024 election hit almost $11 billion, a new record and a substantial increase from the $9 billion spent in 2020.
That’s according to AdImpact, a firm that tracks political ad spending. The total is in line with the firm’s 2023 projection that 2024 would see more ad spending than ever before.
The largest share of the spending, unsurprisingly, came from the presidential race, where Democrats outspent Republicans despite losing the campaign.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ political operation spent more than $880 million since the start of 2023 (including spending when President Joe Biden was at the top of the ticket, as well as joint fundraising committees aligned with the campaign and the Democratic National Committee). President-elect Donald Trump’s political operation, including his campaign, the national party and affiliated joint fundraising committees, spent about $425 million on ads.
Overall, the Democratic campaign and pro-Democratic outside groups spent almost $1.8 billion, while the Trump campaign and pro-Republican outside groups spent $1.4 billion.
The campaign for the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans at the start of next year, drew about $2.6 billion in spending — $1.4 billion from Democratic candidates and outside groups and $1.2 billion from Republican candidates and pro-Republican groups. Ohio’s Senate race, won by Republican Bernie Moreno, was the most expensive race as far as ad spending goes, with more than $538 million spent between the campaigns and outside groups.
House races drew $1.7 billion in ad spending — $940 million from Democrats and $760 million from Republicans, with New York’s 19th District (where NBC News’ Decision Desk projects Democrat Josh Riley will defeat Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro) leading the pack with almost $40 million in ad spending.
A relatively short list of competitive gubernatorial races this election cycle drew almost $530 million, including races held in 2023. North Carolina’s gubernatorial race, where Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is projected to defeat Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson after allegations that Robinson made inflammatory comments on a pornography site, led the way with almost $120 million in ad spending.
All of the other downballot races, including ballot questions and constitutional amendments, state legislative races and more, drew $2.9 billion in spending. Florida’s ballot amendment on legalizing marijuana (which appears to have failed) featured more than $122 million in ad spending, more than any other downballot race.
