Advertising for the presidential race dominated the first week of October, as Democrats outspent Republicans by $88.9 million to $51.3 million, for a total of more than $140 million worth of ads blitzing voters over just seven days.
Meanwhile, several down ballot races that could be pivotal in the fight for control of Congress also saw a continued flood of ad money, and the top targets show how each party is strategizing and managing resources entering the final four-week sprint.
Here’s a quick look at some of those top contests:
Top Senate races
The Senate race in Ohio saw the most ad spending apart from the presidential race, a total of just over $39 million in the first week of October, and Republicans outspent Democrats by about $21.3 million to $17.7 million there.
The Pennsylvania Senate race ranked 3rd for ad spending in the first week of October (2nd, excluding the presidential race), and the parties ran about even on Keystone State airwaves, Republicans spending about $10.1 million, Democrats spending about $9.9 million in that stretch.
Another critical Senate race in Montana ranked 4th in total ad spending?for the week (3rd excluding the presidential), as Democrats are defending Sen. Jon Tester against stiff political headwinds in the typically red state. The contest saw $18.2 million worth of advertising in the first week of the month, and Democrats narrowly outspent Republicans, $9.5 million to $8.7 million.
Four other key Senate races also saw more than $10 million worth of ad spending in the first week of October – races in Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona.
Top House races
Two toss-up House races saw more than $4 million worth of ad spending in the first week of October – in Michigan’s 7th congressional district, a perennial battleground where the parties are battling to replace Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running for Senate; and in Arizona’s first congressional district, covering large parts of the Phoenix metro, where Republicans are defending Rep. David Schweikert after his extremely narrow 2022 win.
Nine other highly competitive House races saw more than $3 million worth of ad spending in the opening week of the final month, including a bucket of races in California – CA-22, CA-27, and CA013 – with one, CA-27, where Republicans outspent Democrats by about $1.4 million. And in another key California House race, CA-45, Republicans also dramatically outspent Democrats, by more than $2 million out of about $2.5 million total.
In addition, a quartet of important New York House races also ranked among the contests seeing the most ad spending in the first week of October.