Halfway through 2020, we face what is, without a doubt, one of the most bizarre years in recent memory. A hyper-engaged electorate follows every aspect of the presidential race with extreme interest, while a global pandemic has impacted our day-to-day lives in an unprecedented manner. One of the main questions we have been asked is “How has the political advertising landscape been affected?” We originally put out projections estimating that $6 billion would be spent on all political advertising in 2020, and we ultimately revised that up to $6.7 billion, even during the pandemic. Today we will look at the advertising landscape to date in 2020, and how it compares to previous election cycles. This has seen record-breaking spending across the board, outpacing past election years by nearly $1 billion. To date, $1.6 billion has been spent through 7/13/2020, with $900 million already reserved from today through Election Day.

Above, we can see spending over time by election year going back to 2016. 2020 is pacing well above previous years through the middle of June. The impact of Mike

More from the Cook Political Report

Amy
First Person
Cook Politcal Logo