Political Ad Reservations Top $1 Billion For 2026 Midterms, states Inside Radio
Political advertising is accelerating heading into the late-summer primary season, with campaigns, parties and outside groups now committing $1.2 billion in future media reservations across 209 federal and state races, according to Kinetiq Political Insights (KPI) data. Its latest update of political advertising activity paints a picture of where there isn’t one party dominating, reports Inside Radio.
Instead, states Inside Radio, “the numbers show a much more nuanced landscape where Democrats overwhelm Republicans in some contests, while Republicans dominate others — and several marquee general election races remain relatively balanced. That reflects the patchwork nature of the 2026 campaign as competitive primaries, Senate races, gubernatorial contests and ballot initiatives all compete for airtime simultaneously.
“Ohio remains the biggest political advertising state in the country, with more than $201 million in forward bookings. California, North Carolina, Maine and Michigan round out the top five. During the seven days leading up to the report, campaigns and outside groups placed $36.9 million in new television advertising reservations, signaling that the advertising pace continues to build ahead of November.
“The report also shows just how concentrated the buying has become. Cleveland ranks as the nation’s busiest television market with $7.8 million in political spending, followed by Detroit ($6.5 million), Kansas City ($5.1 million), Grand Rapids ($3.6 million), Nashville ($3.5 million), Miami ($3.4 million), Lansing ($3.0 million) and Milwaukee ($2.9 million).
