With less than three weeks to go until Election Day, it is all but certain that ad spending this cycle will break the $1 billion market.
Democrats have flooded the airwaves with more ads than Republicans, according to analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project. Across Senate, House and gubernatorial races, spending this election cycle is already over $917 million.
In 10 of the 15 Senate races with the most advertising, pro-Democrat ads outdo pro-GOP ads that aired between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9. By Election Day, a total of at least two million ads will have aired this cycle.
In North Carolina, for example, more than 14,000 ads aired. Almost 7,600 were pro-Democratic, while just under 6,700 were pro-Republican. The cost for each side as $4.6 million and $5.7 million, respectively.
However, outside groups advertise on behalf of Republicans more than Democrats. In 13 of the 15 top Senate contests — excluding South Dakota and Virginia — groups sponsored a greater percentage of pro-Republican than pro-Democratic ads, the analysis shows.
“Because Republicans are relying on outside groups to pay for their ads, they are not getting as much bang for the buck as Democrats,” said Michael Franz, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project.
“Still, because political science research suggests outside spending can be more persuasive than ads from candidates, this strategy may pay off for Republicans,” Franz said.
Who spent the most money? Crossroads GPS, which invested $3.8 million into the most competitive Senate races.
The Republican Governors Association aired the most ads, according to the analysis.
