Senate candidates drew over $15 million in out-of-state fundraising ads this cycle

Candidates in four competitive U.S. Senate races spent more than $15 million on digital advertising tied to fundraising during the 2025-26 election cycle, according to an NPR analysis of Google Ads covering races in Iowa, Georgia, Ohio and Texas. About three quarters of that spending went to ads that ran nationally rather than within the candidate's home state.

In Georgia and Iowa, out-of-state money accounts for more than 80% of itemized individual contributions for Democratic candidates. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Iowa Democratic nominee Josh Turek each drew more than 80% of their itemized individual contributions from outside their home states. Across the four races examined, a majority of the money raised has come from donors living outside the state where the race is held.

ActBlue, the Democratic grassroots fundraising platform launched in 2004, and WinRed, the Republican counterpart launched in 2019, have lowered the cost of soliciting small contributions, according to Zachary Albert, a professor of politics at Brandeis University. "ActBlue and WinRed really reduced the transaction costs for contributing," Albert said. "Even if you're only yielding like a $5 or $10 contribution from someone like the costs of soliciting that are so much lower than they used to be, that it makes it worthwhile."

The two audiences pull in different directions. Michael Franz of the Wesleyan Media Project said candidates adjust their language depending on where an ad runs. "In a general election campaign for a [local] TV ad, a candidate will never say, 'I'm the Democrat,' because they want to appeal to moderates and swing voters and they want voters across the aisle," Franz said. "But with a digital ad that's airing outside of your state, the party label becomes more important."

That shift shows up in the current races. Former Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, seeking to return to the Senate, asks viewers to turn his state blue. Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins asks for help turning his state's Senate seat red. Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson promotes her America First credentials. Ossoff attacks Trump directly in his ads.

Daniel Hopkins, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said candidates now answer to two groups at once. "When Jon Ossoff is trying to compete for votes, he's competing against Georgia Republicans," Hopkins said. "But when Jon Ossoff is trying to compete for dollars, he's competing for attention and for donations, ultimately with other prominent Democratic candidates."

Out-of-state contributions to congressional campaigns have risen each election cycle, according to OpenSecrets. Democrats built ActBlue in 2004, roughly 15 years before Republicans launched WinRed in 2019, giving Democrats an early lead in small-dollar fundraising infrastructure. Sarah Bryner, a director who studies campaign finance at Public Agenda, said donors in states that lean heavily toward one party often send money elsewhere. "People from California really don't feel like they have much to do because their state's going to go blue regardless," she said. "So they support candidates in states like Georgia or Texas."

Regulation varies by state. Hawaii will cap out-of-state donations starting in 2027. Alaska requires political ads to list the top three donors, and Colorado and Virginia have similar disclosure laws for online and broadcast ads. Raymond La Raja, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts, said matching local donations with public funds, using New York City as a model, could shift candidates toward issues raised by their own constituents.

Bryner said money raised from outside a state does not reliably deliver votes. Amy McGrath, who ran against Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, and Beto O'Rourke, who ran against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, both raised heavily from out-of-state donors and lost. "As much as money in politics is such a factor in America, voters are still ultimately who makes the final decision" Bryner said. "And if you're getting all your money from outside of the state, those people can't vote for you."

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has spent three times as much on advertising at this point in the cycle as it did in the previous midterms, following a June Supreme Court ruling in favor of coordinated campaign spending that allows more out-of-state funds to be spent in elections.