An analysis of Federal Election Commission data by campaign finance tracker, OpenSecrets projects that spending on the 2025-2026 election cycle will reach about $12 billion — meaning that, at the federal level, this cycle is slated to be the most expensive midterm election on record.
An analysis by AdImpact that incorporated gubernatorial elections found it to be the most expensive cycle on record, surpassing even the 2023-2024 general election cycle.
“I Voted” stickers are seen on a table on the last day of early voting at the Cuyahoga Board of Elections, November 01, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Advertising spending across House, Senate and gubernatorial races this cycle cost about $7.1 billion, according to an analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project. About $1.4 billion of that ad spending occurred late in the cycle, between Oct. 12 and Oct. 25.
-ABC News’ Will Lennon