2026 Midterm Cycle Becomes the Most Expensive Election Cycle Ever, The Hill Reports
According to The Hill, a handful of races are dominating ad spending in a midterm cycle described as the most expensive election cycle ever.
According to The Hill, the 2026 midterm elections have officially become "the most expensive election cycle ever," with a handful of races dominating the ad spending charts. The report, written by Sarah Fortinsky for The Hill's Morning Report newsletter, identifies five of the most expensive races this cycle, as its title states.
The newsletter's summary states that on Monday the current cycle reached a further point in campaign spending, but the text available for this report breaks off before it gives the figure. The summary therefore does not establish the total amount spent, and it does not name the five races.
The summary describes the ad spending charts as showing spending concentrated in a small number of races. It does not say how the spending was measured or over what period it was counted.
Other items in the same issue, according to the summary, include final economic reports ahead of Election Day and a decision by President Trump to cancel rallies in Iowa and Kansas. The summary also lists a segment on Elon Musk, but the text available does not include its details.
This report relies on that summary alone. No independent figures on campaign spending have been drawn from other sources for it, and the summary's headline items are reported here only as far as the summary itself describes them.
The complete Morning Report newsletter, which The Hill publishes on its website, contains the full text of the item. Readers seeking the spending totals and the names of the races in the headline can consult it there.
Sources: The Hill: Five of the most expensive races this cycle; ABC News: Sheppard runs for five touchdowns and Duke races past Boston College 47-2.