Cost of Living and Taxes Top Issue Mentions in Congressional Spots(MIDDLETOWN, CT) October 1, 2026 – Spending on ads in U.S. Senate races approached $500 million in the period between September 8 (the day after Labor Day) and September 27.  Of that, over $112 million was devoted to ads in the Texas Senate race, as Table 1 shows.  Notably, the Republican candidate, Ken Paxton, spent almost no money on ads (though he did coordinate on some spending with the Republican Party—about $800,000), while outside groups made up 82.5 percent of the ad spending in that race during this time frame. …

(MIDDLETOWN, CT) September 17, 2026 – Over the past month, advertisers have spent more on pro-Republican ads than pro-Democratic ads in nine of the top ten Senate races, with Georgia the only state breaking that trend, as Table 1 shows. “The political winds may favor Democrats this year, but in almost all of the top Senate races in the last several weeks, Republicans have benefitted from more spending,” said Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project.  “The one upside for Democrats is that a greater percentage of their spending tends to come from candidates as opposed to groups.  This…

Majority of Ads and Spending Are Pro-Republican(MIDDLETOWN, CT) September 4, 2026 - The Wesleyan Media Project continues to update its list of political ads generated or enhanced through the use of AI tools. We have now identified a minimum of 164 political ads generated or enhanced through the use of AI.  The spending for the ads we have identified (which again is undercount of AI prevalence) is just under $80 million. To identify these ads, the WMP followed mentions of AI-generated ads in news media, searched for ads with an AI disclaimer and kept a close watch in our own…

(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,…