Forecasted Record Money Is Being Spent On Political Ads Iowans Hate

Whatever party you're in, we'll all sick of them.

While I was watching TV this weekend, I saw multiple commercial breaks that were nothing but political ads the entire time- whether it was hate ads against opponents or campaign promise ads. It's exhausting and does not make us excited to do our citizen duty to vote.

It's a big election year for Iowa, with races for seats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House and Governor, along with other positions.

But as everyone drags each other through the mud on television, it's forecasted that candidates across the country are going to spend a record amount of money this midterm, with broadcast alone expected to hit $5.6 million.

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Last year alone in Iowa, when there weren't any big elections, AdImpact found campaigns in Iowa spent over $3 million in just TV ads, not including other outlets.

As numbers are still adding up for this year, here's how the spending broke down by party last year: Democrat/liberal-leaning groups spent the most money on one race- about $900,000 on ads slamming Sen. Joni Ernst.

Independent groups last year spent $558,000 on ads addressing Iowa's energy policy.

The amount of money from either Democrats or Conservatives is different depending on what campaign they're backing or targeting.

Civility would be a good look for a candidate but thankfully we only have 2 months left of these. One group has been pushing to tone down the rhetoric from both sides and bring 'Iowa Nice' into the ads as the 2026 election nears.