Despite a lack of much-anticipated elections, political advertising is still a strong sector during the first three months of 2025, new data from AdImpact shows.
During the first quarter, $146 million in political advertising has been spent, which outpaces previous post-presidential years. In 2021, $109 million was spent in the first quarter on political.
Despite the lack of attention-getting national races, some state issues have proven to be hot-button drivers of spending. In New Jersey, nearly $30 million has been spent on the governor’s race ahead of the June 10th primary. Of the $28.9 million bought, $26.6 million has been by Democratic Party candidates.
Additional races include the chance to fill the seat previously held by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), which has seen nearly $4 million in ad spending.
The largest race thus far has been the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. AdImpact projects it will be the most expensive state supreme court race ever, with already nearly $70 million spent and reserved. The most recent Wisconsin Supreme Court election saw $40 million total spent during the race. That was previously the most expensive race on record, topping $22 million spent in Illinois in 2022.
AdImpact reports nearly 45% of all spending on the election has been from outside groups and political action committees and not the candidates and parties themselves. One such group is Building America’s Future, funded by Elon Musk, which has already spent more than $7 million on the race.
“With Musk promising his involvement in future primaries and other elections around the country, WI’s Supreme Court race marks the first major test of Musk’s political influence after Donald Trump’s 2024 victory,” AdImpact said.
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