Michigan's $47 Million Week

LANSING (Oct. 21, 2020) — "Election season" or not, advertising spending in Michigan has increased explosively in the runup to in-person voting. About $47 million is going to be spent in the next seven days on Michigan airwaves, according to data from Advertising Analytics and the Federal Communications Commission analyzed by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN).

This is an extraordinary amount of money even within a year of unprecedented spending flooding into crucial races in Michigan for the U.S. House and Senate. It’s a nearly $9 million increase from the week prior, when more than 31,000 ads ran, as key races have appeared to tighten and the end of election season looms. That’s the sharpest increase in spending aside from the beginning of early voting in late September. 

It’s not because Michiganders are generously contributing to their preferred candidates. Outside groups and dark money organizations are outspending campaigns two-to-one. Twenty-two different groups, excluding the campaigns, will be running presidential ads. Twelve will be running ads for the U.S. Senate race.

In total at least $19.2 million will be spent on the U.S. Senate race this week alone, a number that considerably exceeded MCFN’s projections. The race has become the dominant force on Michigan airwaves, exceeding even the presidential election’s spending of $16.5 million.