The final tally is in for how much was spent on advertising during the 2024 political cycle is in, and it’s a record-breaker. Spending during a cycle exceeded $10 billion for the first time in history. The spending blew past AdImpact’s $10.78 billion forecast, and the $11 billion mark. The ad tracking firm says $11.1 billion was spent nationwide.
“A late surge in spending, fueled by [Vice President Kamala] Harris’ elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket and a tightly contested Congress, propelled the Senate, House, and Presidential races to unprecedented levels,” AdImpact reports.
According to the report, the radio industry came out of the election with a total of $326 million in political ad dollars. As in the past, broadcast television had the biggest share of all media ad spending. AdImpact says its $5.35 billion total accounted for 48% of the cycle’s total. However, it was the first time that broadcast TV’s share slid below 50%.
“During the 2024 cycle, the media landscape experienced noticeable shifts across various categories, largely driven by changes in how voters consumed media,” the report says. “The most significant shift came from CTV, which established itself as a major player in the media ecosystem.”
It was the first full election cycle that AdImpact tracked CTV spending and it says when the last votes were counted, there was $2.3 billion spent on online video services. That translated into more than one of every five dollars (21%) spent by campaigns and their allies.
Some of those dollars were pulled away from cable television, which has seen political ad buyers react to chord-cutting by cutting budgets. The report says nearly $400 million less was spent on cable TV this year compared to 2020. “As more consumers cut the cord and advertisers increasingly leverage the precision of digital targeting, CTV expenditures are expected to continue growing in the years ahead,” the firm predicts.
After losing ground during the mid-term elections two years ago, AdImpact says digital advertising overall had a “strong resurgence” during the 2024 cycle. This year it says $1.6 billion was spent on digital ads, which was still below the $1.7 billion total for digital four years ago. Overall, Democrats outspent Republicans in the digital space by a two-to-one margin—and with the GOP prevailing on Election Day, the results probably did little to help address concerns about whether digital ads are effective.
The Presidential race generated the most advertising during the 2024 cycle. AdImpact says spending reached $3.2 billion, making it the most expensive battle for the White House in U.S. history.
“Initial concerns about a potential downturn in spending, fueled in part by an inexpensive presidential primary, proved unfounded,” the firm explains, saying 51% of the election’s overall spending occurred in the final eight weeks of the campaign. “The battle over a tightly contested Congress, combined with a late surge in spending driven by Kamala Harris' elevation to the top of the ticket, propelled the Senate, House, and Presidential races to record-breaking levels,” the firm says.
Senate races totaled $2.7 billion, with six contests exceeding $200 million. And House spending totaled $1.7 billion, with 34 races surpassing $20 million.
Like most years, the election spending was focused on where competitive races emerged. This year, that meant 13 states accounted for over $7.4 billion—representing two-thirds of the total $11.1 billion spent. No state had more than Pennsylvania, which was competitive in both the Presidential and Senate races. That led to $1.2 billion of advertising focused on the state during the cycle.
Other large recipients included media in Michigan ($806 million), Ohio ($745 million), Wisconsin ($673 million), Arizona ($511 million), and North Carolina ($509 million). California wasn’t competitive for federal races, but ballot measures led to $733 million of advertising in that state this year, making it the fourth-biggest in terms of overall political spending.
While much of the news coverage focused on the White House race, there were more than a dozen gubernatorial races this year. Among those races, ad spending more than doubled compared to four years ago, increasing 110% to $527 million across 16 states and territories. North Carolina generated the most, totaling $119 million, according to AdImpact. Kentucky was second, with $93 million in ads.
Down-ballot races generated $3 billion worth of advertising this year, which was $191 million less than during the 2022 cycle. The report says big gains came at the state legislature level, where ad spending rose $173 million versus two years ago. Virginia led the cycle at $77 million, which AdImpact says was the most state legislature spending on record.
Elsewhere, abortion-related ballot initiatives nationwide led to $270 million in ad spending, with a marijuana ballot measure in Florida resulting in $327 million of ad spend.
Download AdImpact’s full report HERE.
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