US midterm campaign spending projected to hit record $11.9bn

The 2026 US midterm election campaign is on course to cost a record $11.9bn, according to OpenSecrets, as spending by political groups and wealthy donors surges ahead of election day on 3 November.

That projection, based on spending trends in previous election cycles, would be about 30% higher than the total for the 2022 midterms. The final figure is not yet known: campaign spending reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) only run to mid-October, and full totals will come after the election.

More than $9.5bn had been spent by mid-October, according to the latest FEC filings. Political action committees (PACs) and so-called Super PACs accounted for about $5.5bn, more than half the total; their spending had almost doubled in the preceding couple of months.

Super PACs can raise unlimited sums from individuals, companies, unions and other political committees. They cannot donate that money directly to candidates, but can spend it independently to support them.

The 40 biggest donors had given $2.4bn by 14 October, a record for that point in a midterm cycle, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Michael Beckel, a campaign finance expert, said spending was “shattering” records, with a growing share coming from the wealthiest donors and groups.

Elon Musk was the biggest individual donor, giving almost $500m by October, according to the report. Much of it went to America PAC, a Super PAC he set up in 2024, and the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. More than $45m from America PAC went into the Texas Senate race, where Republican Ken Paxton is running against Democrat James Talarico; the group also invested about $10m in each of the Michigan and Ohio Senate races.

Other major contributors included former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave more than $60m to Democratic causes, and billionaire George Soros’s Geosor Corp and Fund for Policy Reform, which gave a combined $102m to liberal groups. Crypto firms Ripple and Coinbase contributed a combined $63m to Super PACs promoting the industry’s interests, according to OpenSecrets.

Advertising accounts for most campaign spending. AdImpact, an advertising-tracking firm, put the cycle’s advertising total at $11.15bn through the end of October, with traditional broadcast television still the biggest recipient, although digital advertising is growing. Its figures showed the most advertising spending in the Senate races in Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Iowa and Maine.