Tracking Issue Trends, Weekly
Each week, The Cook Political Report Battleground Issue Tracker — powered by AdImpact — will rank the top issues featured in broadcast campaign advertising in every competitive Senate and House contest (those rated by The Cook Political Report as Toss-Up or Lean).
Focus On Competitive Districts
By keeping a keen eye on districts and states that will be competitive in November, the battleground tracker zooms in on the messaging that both parties believe will be the most compelling to voters in the swingiest parts of the country.
Tracking Primary & General Election Ads
The CPR Battleground Issue Tracker will monitor campaign issues and related spending in the primaries in competitive contests before transitioning to general election issues and spending.
2026 Primary Ads
House
In the race for the House, as of June 1, 2026, Republican candidates and groups in districts we rate as competitive have spent most heavily on broadcast ads that mention President Donald Trump — a reflection of how they hope to leverage his support to secure their party’s nomination as the primary season unfolds. Across the districts where candidates have aired ads this year, some ten thousand GOP spots, to the tune of $3.6 million, have mentioned Trump. (Read more analysis of this chart here).
Races included: CA-22 ($5.0M), NE-02 ($3.4M), PA-07 ($2.6M), IA-01 ($2.6M), CA-48 ($2.1M), CO-08 ($1.6M), VA-02 ($1.5M), AZ-06 ($1.2M), MI-07 ($897K), WI-03 ($816.3K), NC-01 ($681.1K), MI-08 ($653.6K), PA-08 Primary ($570.4K), PA-10 ($565.3K), TX-34 ($518.8K), IA-03 ($465.5K), NJ-07 ($464.7K), CA-13 ($342.5K), IA-02 ($270.5K), OH-09 ($141K), AZ-01 ($118.5K), NY-17 ($115.3K), PA-08 General ($74.1K), FL-14 ($54K), NV-03 ($17.7K), FL-25 ($145.82)
Senate
While spending in the six Senate races that The Cook Political Report currently rates as competitive will easily reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars, TV advertising in most of those contests has yet to come online.
However, the Maine Senate race has already seen over $17 million in ad spending since the beginning of the year, as endangered Sen. Susan Collins works to fortify herself against a coming onslaught. (Read more analysis of this chart here).
Races included: TX Senate Primary ($33.6M), ME Senate Primary ($18M), TX Senate Primary Runoff ($15.8M), MI Senate Primary ($5.9M), GA Senate Primary ($3.7M), OH Senate Special Primary ($1M), AK Senate Primary ($686.1K)
2026 General Ads
Senate
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Races included: Ohio Senate ($1.7m)
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About AdImpact
AdImpact is a leading advertising and market intelligence company delivering real-time visibility into advertising activity across traditional, digital, and emerging media platforms.
Their platform monitors more than one billion TV ad occurrences daily and powers the industry’s largest ad catalog, with over 1.8 million unique creatives. AdImpact provides comprehensive coverage across all 210 U.S. markets and more than 41,000 ZIP codes, tracking advertising activity for over 90,000 brands—including over 19,000 local advertisers.
Their platform monitors more than one billion TV ad occurrences daily and powers the industry’s largest ad catalog, with over 1.8 million unique creatives. AdImpact provides comprehensive coverage across all 210 U.S. markets and more than 41,000 ZIP codes, tracking advertising activity for over 90,000 brands—including over 19,000 local advertisers.
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