Pennsylvania presidential ad spending may break records

(The Center Square) — Political advertising in Pennsylvania for the 2024 presidential election is predicted to reach $360 million, the highest level in the nation.

Overall spending, including down-ballot races, is projected to be $800 million, the 3rd-highest in the nation.

This is according to The Political Projections Report, which was released on Monday by advertisement tracking company AdImpact.

Swing states like Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina will play especially critical roles in the presidential election, the report found.

“With spending centralized in a handful of swing states that will ultimately decide the election, we expect the general to see $2.16B, a 17% increase over 2020.”

Pennsylvania will also likely see record levels of spending on both Senate and down-ballot races as well.

“With Democrats on the defensive this fall, spending will overwhelmingly occur in several key battleground states: Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Maryland, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” the report found.

All of these numbers are significantly higher than in past election cycles.

The report anticipates a 19% growth in overall advertising in the upcoming election cycle over the 2020 election season, with spending through June 30th already “pacing $529M ahead of the 2020 cycle.”

This comes as political advertising just begins to enter what AdImpact calls the “true spending season,” which runs from July 1 through Election Day.

Nationwide political advertising spending will likely reach a record high $10.69 billion, making it the “most expensive on record.”

The $10.69 billion was a revision from its earlier-predicted number of $10.2 billion.

Pennsylvania also saw an upward revision of $62 million from the past report, giving it the 5th-largest increase.

Much of the spending comes from political interest groups like Planned Parenthood, who are particularly motivated to spend in states with ballot initiatives dealing with abortion, marijuana, or other issues.

According to AdImpact, if Pennsylvania decides to take up an initiative on one of those issues, there’s a “strong indication” that “it will see an influx of additional expenditures.”

Elyse Apel is an apprentice reporter with The Center Square, covering Georgia and North Carolina. She is a 2024 graduate of Hillsdale College.