Political Ad Dollars Flow To Radio In Off-Year Windfall.

The off-year for political advertising is proving to be anything but. The latest date from AdImpact says that $331 million has been spent so far across all 2025 and 2026 races. That is more than double (+104%) from the previous update from the ad tracking firm at the start of March.

The radio industry has benefited from the unexpectedly robust spending, with politicians and their allies spending $14 million in radio to date according to AdImpact. The biggest recipient of the dollars is the traditional political go-to of broadcast television. It is where about a third of the total, or $106 million. Digital ranks second, with a quarter of the dollars, or $85 million, going to online media. Three other video formats—cable television ($63 million), CTV ($62 million), and satellite TV ($1 million) have also benefited from the political races.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race last week is the biggest driver of ad spending so far. AdImpact reports $80 million was spent on the contest, as it became the most expensive state supreme court race on record in the U.S. despite its official nonpartisan designation.

New Jersey is the location of another of 2025’s biggest political races. AdImpact’s latest totals show $37 million has been spent on advertising so far ahead of the June 10 gubernatorial primary. Democrat Josh Gottheimer leads the list, with the candidate and his allies spending $13 million to date.

Beyond elections, several issues are driving ad spending. AdImpact says $17 million has been spent on healthcare-related advertising so far this year, while $12 million has been spent on immigration. Another $10 million has been spent by the parties’ ads geared toward boosting their fundraising efforts for the 2026 midterm elections.

Thanks to the New Jersey election, the New York market is tops for political ads during the first few months of the year. AdImpact calculates the market has received $38 million in ad buys, while the Philadelphia market has bookended the state with $9 million in spending. Issue ads have propelled the Washington market into second with $32 million in spending. Wisconsin markets also have been big winners, led by Milwaukee, which received $24 million, along with $19 million spent in Green Bay and $11 million in Madison.

There Is No Off-Year

The level of spending comes as little surprise to Steve Passwaiter, President of Silver Oak Political. He said at the NAB Show on Monday that the past several cycles have seen totals climb higher, even in years when in the past political ad shops shifted into neutral. “If you look at 2025 and 2026 as one big cycle, there really is no off year,” he said.

There is no shortage of races on the horizon. This year there are gubernatorial elections in both New Jersey and Virginia, and next year there are 36 more in states like California, Georgia and Florida.

But the biggest number of races will be on the federal level next year, when in addition to all 435 House members, 33 Senate contests will be held. That includes key races in states like Georgia, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Passwaiter noted that in Georgia, incumbent John Ossoff (D-GA) is already on the air in his re-election bid.

A bigger opportunity for radio may come as 90 of 99 state legislatures hold elections in the next two years, as issues like abortion rights have driven interest and dollars to what may have once have been low-funded contests. “That is no longer the case,” Passwaiter said. “These are now well-funded races.”

Lead Pitch With Digital

This may not be the quiet year that some expected, but it is nevertheless less hectic for political decision-makers and Passwaiter said that offers an opportunity for radio to spend the next several months getting to know the politicians, consultants and buyers in their backyard.

“What we do in 2025 effects 2026 and beyond,” said RAB President Mike Hulvey. The good news for radio reps is that they still earn high marks from buyers.

“Radio doesn’t have a sales problem. All of the people I talked to on the buy side were almost laudatory about what they felt about radio sellers,” Passwaiter said. But he said as political becomes a year-round category, selling should also be a full-time job ensuring radio is talking to the right people.

When it comes to the pitch, Passwaiter said radio should push digital audio options more than ever in 2025. “Digital audio is often the preferred choice because it’s traceable and trackable, and it can be bought with specific political segments in mind,” he explained.

Just as important, Passwaiter said broadcasters need to put as much digital inventory into the programming buying exchanges as possible, especially The Trade Desk, where much of political buying is done. Buyers’ goals, he said, is targeting very specific groups of voters with a big-reach message less effective than in the past. “Increasingly, it’s pretty narrow blocks of voters that are deciding a lot of these races,” he said.