With Election Day just hours away, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump doubled down in their final campaign efforts, zeroing in on swing states like Pennsylvania. Harris energized supporters at Philadelphia's iconic ‘Rocky’ steps, while Trump covered major ground, starting in North Carolina before wrapping up in Michigan.
The campaign trail intensified as the Democratic Party endorsed Vice President Kamla Harris as their candidate on August 5, 2024, for the US Presedintial elections. Since then, there has been a flurry of spending on advertisement by both the party's candidates and their supporters. More than half a billion has been spent on political advertisements so far.
More than $600 Mn ($616,541,700 ) were spent on 120,099 political advertisements, as per Google Ads Transparency Centre. Looking at the period from August 5th to November 5th, Future Forward PAC (FF PAC) was the biggest spender with an advertisement budget of $59.6 Mn. FF PAC is a left-of-centre advocacy group and in this 2024 US Presidential Election is endorsing Kamala Harris. This spending is followed by 'Harris For President' which has spent around $51.3 Mn. Under the name of 'Harris Victory Fund', the political advertisement spent was around $39 Mn. At the fourth spot is WinSenate, another PAC supporting Democratic candidate Harris, with a total spend of $26.4 Mn.
It is only at the fifth spot when first supporters of Republicans/Donald Trump can be seen on the list. With a total spending of $25.2 Mn, 'Donald J Trump For President 2024 Inc.' emerged on the leaderboard at the fifth spot, Google Ads Transparency Center data suggests.
ALSO ON ABP LIVE | Will Donald Trump Win? Need To Watch This 2016 SNL Skit Feat Dave Chappelle & Chris Rock On US Election Night
Which States Were The Central Hub For Advertisements Spend
As per multiple polls and media reports, seven states are being considered where the elections are tight or popularly called swing states. They are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The state where both the Democrat and Republican presidential candidates came camping on the last day of the campaign, Pennsylvania, is also the main focus area for the advertisers as per the Google Ads Transparency Center.
Around $87.3 Mn was spent on Pennsylvania demographics by the two parties vying for power. Michigan, another swing state, saw $73.9 Mn being spent by political parties or their supporters certifying the state being an intense battleground. Of the top 10 states which saw spending on political advertisements, all the swing states captured the top slots with California, Ohio and Texas being the other.
Here’s how the spending broke down in other major states:
- California: $59.1 million
- Wisconsin: $46.2 million (Swing State)
- Ohio: $38.3 million
- Georgia: $37.3 million (Swing State)
- Arizona: $37 million (Swing State)
- North Carolina: $33.3 million (Swing State)
- Nevada: $25.5 million (Swing State)
- Texas: $21.4 million
Ad Format Preference
Video ads led the way, making up 81% of total ad spending ($505 million), reflecting parties’ reliance on high-engagement formats to reach voters. Text-based advertisements at $108 Mn constituted 17.5% of the total amount spent on political ads from August 5 to November 5, as per the Google Ads Transparency Center.
With the final votes cast, the race for the 47th President of the United States has drawn global attention as these campaign efforts could shift the course of US policy for the next four years.
Harris Vs Trump: When Will The World Know Who Has Won As US Votes To Elect New President