THE MOST EXPENSIVE MIDTERMS EVER: $11.6 BILLION AND COUNTING

The 2026 midterm campaign could be the most expensive ever, at a projected $11.6 billion, compared with $11.2 billion in the 2024 presidential cycle, according to AdImpact, which tracks broadcast advertising, USA Today reported.

The money is chasing a narrow map: all 435 House seats, 35 Senate races and 39 gubernatorial contests are on the ballot Tuesday, with Republicans defending a 218-214 House majority and a 53-47 Senate majority.

The pace of early voting is higher than in the last midterm in 2022, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, suggesting keen interest in the congressional and state elections even without a presidential contest.

President Donald Trump has urged voters at rallies across the country — including his Iowa and Kansas stops on Sunday — to pretend he is on the ballot, telling crowds his party gets far more votes when his name is on it.

Whatever the final price tag, the spending has already bought one certainty: almost no American in a competitive state has been able to escape this campaign.