The post-Labor Day political advertising rush has hit all across the U.S. but specifically in the battleground states – those that will go Democrat or Republican.
AdImpact reports $510 million in political advertising aired nationwide during the first two weeks of September alone. Texas and Ohio each attracted more than $70 million.
This increases non-political marketers media buying costs, limits availability of inventory and creates more clutter.
AdImpact has tracked more than $613 million in future advertising reservations targeting just nine competitive Senate races. That represents only a portion of the political money already booked through Election Day and provides another indication that the election-year advertising market is about to be flooded with ads.
AdImpact is forecasting a record $11.6 billion for the full 2026 cycle. The latest numbers show $6.3 billion in political advertising had aired through Sept. 14, putting the 2026 cycle 37% ahead of the comparable point in 2022 midterms.
AdImpact says campaigns and congressional party committees currently have $25.7 million in future coordinated reservations across 41 races.
Political issue advertising is adding another layer of spending. AdImpact says Build American AI recently placed $7.6 million in advertising nationally and across Ohio, Kansas, Wisconsin and Virginia supporting data-center development.
For digital ads, pre-roll, social, CTV and other media avoid these key battleground states as the election approaches:
Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin
After October 15th be prepared to pull your ads until after the election unless results justify it.
For direct mail, stop the end of September and then mail after the election.