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By Hugh Cameron
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Pro-GOP groups continue to spend significant sums fending off Democratic challenges in this year’s Senate battlegrounds.
Independent expenditure filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) analyzed by Newsweek show outside groups have spent $693.6 million directly opposing Democratic candidates in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas—states polling identifies as the 2026 tossup contests.
Alongside $245.4 million in pro-Republican expenditures, this brings the total enjoyed by GOP candidates across these states to $939 million. The figure compares favorably to $528 million for Democrats, made up of $128.7 million in pro-candidate expenditures and $399.3 million which oppose their Republican rivals.
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Spending—particularly on attack ads—has become a central focus of Senate races in this year’s battlegrounds. The analytics firm AdImpact reports that this election cycle is now the most expensive in history, with $11.2 billion spent on aired ads and future reservations.
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How Much Has Been Spent on the Race?
The figures represent the amount spent by individuals, political action committees and other groups, categorized based on their "express advocacy" in favor or against a given candidate.
In every race, more money is being spent opposing opponents than supporting their rivals, and in each aside from Kansas, more is being spent opposing Democrats than Republicans.
In Maine, for example, $63.3 million has been spent by outside groups directly opposing Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson’s candidacy. This is nearly twice as much as has been spent ($32.3 million) against his rival, Susan Collins. Jackson has enjoyed more fiscal support, however, with $10.3 million spent backing his campaign versus $7.5 million for Collins.
At $207.6 million, more has been spent opposing the Texas Democrat James Talarico than any other candidate. With only $22.9 million in explicitly pro-Talarico expenditures, over nine times as much has been spent in opposition to his candidacy as supporting it. He is followed by Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan at $168.5 million and $127.8 million, respectively.
Texas remains the most expensive race in terms of outside spending at $412.5 million when one counts pro-Republican, pro-Democrat, anti-Republican and anti-Democrat spending.
The independent expenditures tallied by the FEC do not represent total spending in the race, only that which has come from outside groups not directly affiliated with a campaign. Outlays excluded from this analysis include "electioneering communications"—ads that refer to a candidate or contest without explicitly advocating for one side—and spending by the parties themselves.
All told, AdImpact estimates that $1.3 billion has been spent on ads that have already aired in these seven contests alongside the New Hampshire Senate race. In June, the firm forecast that over $11.6 billion would be spent in total on ads across House, Senate, gubernatorial and state legislative races during this election cycle.
Where Is the Money Coming From?
The FEC filings show many of the largest donations have come from only a handful of outside groups.
In Texas, where pro-GOP expenditures have topped $300 million, Texas PAC has been the most significant contributor. The PAC, set up specifically for the race, made five donations of over $20 million in September alone—three opposing Talarico and two supporting his Republican rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The group accounts for $112 million of the $207.6 million that has been spent opposing Talarico.
Defend American Jobs has also been a major donor, pouring $55.8 million into the Ohio race between Republican Jon Husted and the Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown.
Others include No Going Back, President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. PAC and America PAC, Elon Musk’s committee that was created during the 2024 election. The latter has spent $33.7 million supporting Paxton’s campaign in Texas, and $58 million across the seven battlegrounds.
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Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and James Debens
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