Now that the dust has finally settled on the 2022 midterm elections, here are the states that drew the most ad spending in 2022, per AdImpact:
California: $793.6 million
A Democratic stronghold, the Golden State spending was driven by non-partisan races, ballot propositions and the Los Angeles mayoral race, as well as the 2021 gubernatorial recall.
Groups advocating for or against seven separate ballot propositions spent at least $27 million on ads this cycle, with sports-gambling measures drawing hundreds of millions of dollars.
Billionaire Rick Caruso spent more than any other individual candidate on ads this last cycle, spending $54 million on his unsuccessful mayoral bid. But the state's competitive, and expensive, candidates and outside groups spent $143.5 million on ads in House races too.
Georgia: $528.8 million
It's no surprise to see Georgia up this high, considering the state had a competitive governor's race and one of the marquee Senate races (that got pushed into a runoff).
The Senate race drew more ad spending than any other in the state, $341.6 million, with the governor's race drawing $117 million.
Pennsylvania: $484.9 million
Pennsylvania had a similar dynamic to Georgia this cycle, with marquee races for Senate, governor and the House. But the difference in Pennsylvania was that while Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro spent heavily on his successful bid, his GOP opponent largely avoided the airwaves.
That's why the competitive Senate race between Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz paced the ad spending in Pennsylvania this cycle, drawing $273.5 million
Arizona: $386.5 million
Arizona had two marquee races this cycle -- one for Senate and one for governor -- that drew millions of dollars in spending.
The governor's mansion and the contested Senate seat were held by separate parties, so each party was vying for control of both. This led to large influxes of money from groups like the Senate Majority PAC, which spent almost $30 million backing Sen. Mark Kelly.
Spending in the governor's race totaled $66 million on both sides and was fueled by a tense Republican primary, where one candidate, Karrin Taylor Robson, spent over $15 million, more than any one entity spent in the primary or general election.
Nevada: $360.7 million
The Silver State's top race by ad spending was the Senate race, where Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican Adam Laxalt. The race drew $180 million in ad spending, compared to the $80 million in the race for governor and $61 million for the state's House seats.
