Wesleyan Media Project

(MIDDLETOWN, CT) August 13, 2026 – Ads supporting Republicans and Democrats running for Senate this year have converged on the top issues: immigration and policing. According to a new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project of all issues mentioned in local broadcast campaign ads in the cycle-to-date through August 2, thirty-one percent of ad airings sponsored by Democratic candidates, Democratic-affiliated groups or the Democratic party in Senate races mention the issue of policing and 29 percent mention immigration (Table 1).  In the Senate on the Republican side, the top issues are immigration, which is mentioned in 38 percent of airings,…

Photo Gage Skidmore/flickr Trump Mentioned in 55% of Congressional TV Airings; Over 70% of Spots from GOP House and Senate Candidates Mention the President(MIDDLETOWN, CT) June 18, 2026 – The 2026 midterm election is all about Donald Trump, as advertisers from both parties frequently feature the president in their campaign ads.  Indeed, 55 percent of broadcast TV ad airings across candidate and outside group sponsors in U.S. House and Senate races since January 1 of last year have mentioned Trump.  That percentage is even higher on the Republican side than on the Democratic side, with over 70 percent of pro-GOP candidate…

Cycle-to-date Total Approaches $2 Billion(MIDDLETOWN, CT) May 28, 2026 - Ad spending in congressional and gubernatorial campaigns over the past two weeks topped $210 million, elevating spending this cycle in those races to just under $2 billion. Moreover, in a new line of analysis, the Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) has identified at least $19.7 million in spending on ads that are known to be generated or enhanced through the use of AI tools during the current election cycle, which is surely an undercount. To identify these ads, the WMP followed mentions of AI-generated ads in news media, searched for ads…

Nearly 30 percent of ad spending to-date is via streaming(MIDDLETOWN, CT) May 14, 2026 – Spending on campaign advertising in the 2025-2026 midterm election cycle in House, Senate and gubernatorial races has totaled $700 million in just the past two months, thanks, in part, to some extremely competitive primary campaigns (Table 1).  The totals for cycle-to-date spending (as of May 10th) are $1.7 billion. (For comparison, this total is more than double the spending over the same period in 2023-2024 though the specific gubernatorial and congressional races included in both years were different). Groups account for more than 60 percent…