Revitalize your understanding of the intersection between politics and advertising with The Political Pulse. Dive into the intricate dynamics that shaped the 2024 election as we dissect its influence on media expenditure in pivotal U.S. markets and where we anticipate local political ad spending surges during the 2025 election cycle, 2026 midterms, and beyond. Enjoy our December 2024 edition.
A Record-breaking Finale
The 2024 election cycle concluded with a dramatic surge in political advertising, reaching an all-time high of $11 billion in total ad spend, according to AdImpact. This cycle indicated a significant shift in how candidates and campaigns engage with voters, emphasizing localized messaging, local audience targeting, and cross-platform video advertising strategies.
Locality’s inaugural research study, The Local Lift™, conducted with The Harris Poll in the weeks leading up to the election, confirms that localized video advertising resonates deeply with Americans, driving engagement, trust, and action. 71% of Americans expect ad messages to reflect their local context. This local expectation surges to over 8 in 10 younger Millennials and Gen Z viewers ages 18-34 (81%)—a newly powerful voter bloc that many political campaigns worked to activate in their favor this cycle.
Findings from the report reveal that localized video campaigns are six times more likely to be perceived as community-focused compared to national ads. As we’ve long said—all Politics is local, and the alignment of these findings, paired with the record-breaking $11 billion of political ad spend, reflects the power of this strategy to transform viewers into voters. As campaigns raced to the finish line, data-driven tactics took the lead, combining the precision of locally targeted streaming video with the broad reach of local broadcast TV to amplify their reach and effectiveness. Together, this set a new benchmark for local political advertising and reconfirmed the essential role of local media in shaping the democratic process.
Streaming Video Takes Center Stage
One of the most significant trends of the 2024 election cycle was the rapid growth of streaming video—via Connected TV (CTV)—as a dominant platform for political advertising. According to AdImpact, in just one election cycle, CTV’s share of total political ad spend grew from 12% in 2022 to nearly 21% in 2024—an increase of over $1 billion—surpassing both Digital and Cable to take the number two spot in spending share across all mediums with $2.33 billion. This growth highlights a substantial shift among political campaigns as they leveraged the platform’s effectiveness in reaching targeted, local audiences while maintaining their messages on the big screen.
Broadcast television remained the largest single medium for political ad spending at $5.35 billion, controlling a commanding 49% share overall, slightly declining by only 3 points versus the 2022 election cycle. Notably, campaigns increasingly embraced a multi-platform approach, leveraging the unique strengths of CTV for precision targeting with broadcast for market-wide saturation. The shift to CTV underscores the importance of a diversified local video advertising strategy in today’s complex, fragmented media landscape.
How Critical were Battleground States to the 2024 Election Cycle?
AdImpact reports that over $3 billion of the total $11 billion in 2024 political ad spend was allocated to the Presidential race alone, with a disproportionate share funneled into a handful of key swing states: Arizona ($222M total), Georgia ($330M total), Michigan ($414M total), Nevada ($136M total), North Carolina ($229M total), Pennsylvania ($620M total), and Wisconsin ($263M total). Collectively, these states accounted for over 71% of total U.S. Presidential campaign expenditure, and all but one finished within a 5-point margin of victory, highlighting their pivotal role.
This pattern extended to U.S. Senate races, especially where these battleground states saw overlapping investments from both Presidential and Senate campaigns. The ability to layer spending and messaging effectively in these regions across multiple platforms ensured candidates both maximum reach and vital local impact. AdImpact’s data shows Senate Democrats and Republicans together spent over $1.4 billion on broadcast ads alone, followed by CTV ($626 million) and Digital ($266 million), clearly demonstrating the intensity of the fight for control of the chamber.
What’s Next for Political Advertising?
With the 2024 election cycle now in the rearview mirror, political marketers are already shifting their focus to 2025 and beyond. Special elections in Florida (CD-6, Orlando DMA), Ohio (state-wide), and competitive city Mayoral races in New York, NY, New Orleans, LA, Miami, FL, Durham, NC, and San Antonio, TX, headline the 2025 calendar, setting the stage for early indicators of voter sentiment heading into the 2026 midterms. The 2026 U.S. Senate map presents a host of opportunities and challenges for both parties as this cohort’s one-third of the chamber will face voters again. Tight races are already predicted for Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Potential retirements, such as that of Senator Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, could further reshape the political ad spending landscape.
As campaigns begin to mobilize, the lessons learned from 2024—especially the importance of cross-platform local video advertising and the strategic allocation of funds in this new media landscape—will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping political ad strategies for years to come. Stay tuned as we continue to closely monitor these developments in 2025 and leading up to the 2026 midterm elections.
At Locality, we are tracking every race, every ballot initiative, and many more 2025 and midterm election cycle moments that will impact ad spending across streaming, broadcast, and omnichannel video. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss local advertising solutions for your campaigns. We’re always happy to chat about Politics.
