--- title: Midterm Ad Spending Has Topped $10B. Here's Who's Behind the Ads You Keep Seeing | TIME canonical: https://time.com/video/oOrHnTfQ/ og:title: Midterm Ad Spending Has Topped $10B. Here's Who's Behind the Ads You Keep Seeing og:url: https://time.com/video/oOrHnTfQ/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/oOrHnTfQ/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Midterm Ad Spending Has Topped $10B. Here's Who's Behind the Ads You Keep Seeing twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/oOrHnTfQ/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * Politics # Midterm Ad Spending Has Topped $10B. Here's Who's Behind the Ads You Keep Seeing > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5e54eff6-bab8-4ec1-b180-6011fda5b3c5&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Midterm Ad Spending Has Topped $10B. Here's Who's Behind the Ads You Keep Seeing [Watch (HLS stream): Midterm Ad Spending Has Topped $10B. Here's Who's Behind the Ads You Keep Seeing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oOrHnTfQ.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2026-10-22_ --- Oct 22, 2026 7:59 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Finland Tops Global Happiness Index for Second Straight Year — Here's Why](/video/93E8IwTL/) ### Finland Tops Global Happiness Index for Second Straight Year — Here's Why [Here's Why Finland Is Considered the Happiest Country on Earth](/video/mht6SxOL/) ### Here's Why Finland Is Considered the Happiest Country on Earth [Norway Is the Happiest Country in the World](/video/dJh1fdgx/) ### Norway Is the Happiest Country in the World --- ## Transcript $10 billion have now been spent on political ads for the midterms, a record setting number that's projected to reach $11.6 billion by Election Day. In comparison, the 2024 presidential election cycle saw about $11.2 billion in ad spending. So where's all the money coming from? Here's what to know in one minute. Political advertisements are an influential campaign tool, but it's important to note that higher spending doesn't necessarily correlate to greater success at the polls. That hasn't deterred either party from pouring hundreds of millions into some of the tightest Senate races, like in Texas, where 500 million has been funneled into ads so far. James Talarico has the chance to become the state's first Democratic senator since 1993, but Elon Musk is bankrolling the Republicans fight. Just last month, he gave $158 million to super PACs supporting Talarico opponent Ken Paxton. Right behind Texas is Ohio, with 460 million spent. But Maine shows up with the highest ad spending per capita at 200 million. Musk is not the only billionaire pumping finances into the cycle. George Soros stands as the wealthiest identified contributor to Democrats, with entities he's linked to putting $110 million into democracy PAC, while a Supreme Court decision from 2010 supports unlimited donations to superPACs, critics of the rule worry that it gives wealthy donors disproportionate influence over elections, and a quote unquote, dark money loophole potentially allows foreign influence. Proponents say undue influence is averted by preventing direct contributions to candidates. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Midterm Ad Spending Has Topped $10B. 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