With two weeks to go until Election Day, Republicans continue to pour significantly more resources than their rivals into this year’s most crucial Senate battlegrounds.
On Tuesday, the advertising analytics firm AdImpact revealed that Republicans have $208 million in ad reservations for Senate races, 41 percent more than the $147 million Democrats have booked between Tuesday and November 3.
The Ohio race between Republican Senator Jon Husted and Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown—one of a handful rated “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report—leads the pack. Both parties have devoted 20 percent of their ad spending to this contest for the closing days of the 2026 midterms.
Republicans Hold the Advantage in Final Push
In the final fortnight, according to AdImpact, the GOP is outspending the Democratic Party in eight of the top 10 most expensive Senate races, the only exceptions being Georgia and Kansas. The latter sees Republican Senator Roger Marshall fending off a historic challenge from Adam Hamilton. Kansas last elected a Democratic senator in 1932, and polls continue to show a neck-and-neck contest.
AdImpact figures recently shared with Newsweek revealed that, as of October 13, nearly $2.8 billion has been spent on ads in this year’s Senate races. Republicans accounted for $1.6 billion of this, close to half a billion dollars more than $1.1 billion from Democrats and $136 million from independents.
Across House, Senate and governor races, AdImpact projects that $11.6 billion will be spent during the 2026 cycle, up from $11.2 billion in 2024 despite the latter being a presidential election year.
As of October 12, the firm reported that Republicans held the spending advantage in seven of eight Senate races considered a toss-up or a “lean” by the Cook Political Report, and 25 out of 42 for House contests. Researchers said on Tuesday that the figure for Senate races was now eight out of 10.
Targeted Ads a Midterm Weapon
Despite their edge in overall spending, the forecaster Race to the WH nevertheless gives Democrats a 73 percent chance of winning a majority in the upper chamber. And while Republicans hold the overall advantage—and both parties are devoting resources to the same basket of competitive races—stark differences emerge when it comes to how the two are deploying ads in the closing days of the 2026 midterms.
Figures shared with Newsweek by the climate-focused advocacy group Climate Power, revealed that Democrats are far outpacing the GOP when it comes to ads referencing rising energy and utility bills. Climate Power said that over $191 million has been spent on political ads specifically referencing utility and energy bills in the first nine months of 2026. This includes more than $138 million in the third quarter alone, of which Democrats accounted for $96 million.
Between July 1 and October 16, the group found that $74 million had been spent on utility-focused ads in Ohio alone, followed by Michigan with $26 million and Pennsylvania with $24 million.
This comes amid growing awareness about both the rising cost of living, but also the electoral implications of America’s affordability crisis.
"Democrats are the ones listening, and they’re putting their message about lowering costs in front of voters because they know it resonates," Climate Power spokesperson Marcus W. Robinson told Newsweek.
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And earlier this week, AdImpact found that Republicans had all-but erased mentions of Donald Trump from their political ads—a shift that coincides with the president’s declining job approval ratings.
The president has been referenced in only 1 percent of Republican ads aired in October as of the 19th, compared to 47 percent back in May. Democrats, by contrast, have mentioned Trump in 21 percent of their broadcast airings over the same period.
Former White House spokesperson Pete Seat, who served in George W. Bush’s administration, said that this could shore up Republican candidates’ chances in some circumstances. However, he noted that the party could also be tactical when it came to utilizing the president—whose popularity swings sharply across demographics and regions.
“It’s knowing your audience. Television ads are seen by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Why alienate a sizable chunk of the electorate when you don’t have to?” he told Newsweek. “Instead, Republican candidates can target messages that include Trump, if that helps drive turnout in their state or district, directly to voters they know will respond favorably.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Emma Lee-Sang