(The Center Square) — Political advertising in Pennsylvania heading into the 2024 presidential election is expected to reach $360 million, the highest level in the nation.
Total spending, including subelections, is expected to be $800 million, the third highest in the nation.
That’s according to a political forecast report released Monday by ad tracking company AdImpact.
According to the report, battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina will play particularly important roles in the presidential election.
“We expect the general election budget to be $2.16 billion, 17% higher than in 2020, as spending is concentrated in a small number of battleground states that will ultimately decide the election.”
Pennsylvania is likely to see record spending in both the Senate and House races.
“As Democrats are on the defensive this fall, spending will likely be focused primarily in a few key battleground states, including Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Maryland, Michigan and Wisconsin,” the report said.
All these figures are significantly higher than in previous election periods.
The report predicts that overall advertising for the next election cycle will be 19% higher than the 2020 election season, and spending through June 30 is already “on pace to exceed the 2020 election cycle by $529 million.”
This comes as political advertising begins to enter what AdImpact calls the “true spending season,” the period between July 1 and Election Day.
Nationwide political advertising spending is expected to reach a record $10.69 billion, a “record high.”
The $10.69 billion is a revised figure from the initial forecast of $10.2 billion.
Pennsylvania also saw an upward revision of $62 million from the last report, the fifth-largest increase.
Much of the spending has come from political interest groups like Planned Parenthood, which are particularly willing to spend in states with ballot initiatives on issues like abortion and marijuana.
According to AdImpact, there are “strong indications” that if Pennsylvania decides to take the initiative on any of these issues, “we could see an influx of additional spending.”
