AdImpact projects that political advertising will reach $11.6 billion in the 2026 election cycle, surpassing both the $8.9 billion midterm election record set in 2022 and the $11.2 billion spent during the 2024 presidential cycle. For the first time, a midterm election is on track to outspend the preceding presidential election.

That record will dominate the story of this election. But in close races, the defining constraint may not be money. It may be the time between identifying a change in voter sentiment, an emerging attack, or a breaking development and reaching the right voters with a response.