Campaign organizations, interest groups and political action committees have spent more than $82 million on television and radio ads for congressional candidates in recent months, according to federal campaign spending reports analyzed by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.
The 2nd District race between Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Elaine Luria, has produced the heaviest ad spending in the state, with roughly $13 million going into TV, broadcast and digital messages, according to individual candidates’ ad spending figures published by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. Luria’s campaign has spent $7.7 million, topping Kiggan's $5.2 million, according to the most recent data collected by VPAP.
Overall, Democratic candidates have outspent Republicans $24.1 million to $13.4 million. The totals do not include advertising by outside groups.
The $82 million represents political advertising orders placed in 2026 by campaigns, interest groups, political committees and individuals with outlets licensed in Virginia or listing a studio address in the state, according to Federal Communications Commission filings. The amount also includes spending by Virginia candidates or races at outlets in neighboring states and Washington, D.C. The total includes advertising for political issues not endorsing a specific candidate.
VCIJ analyzed all FCC data classified as political advertising that was purchased from Virginia-based media outlets. The analysis also included media outlets in D.C., Maryland, West Virginia, and Tennessee where advertisements mentioned Virginia candidates.
Yet, this doesn’t show the full extent of political spending. VCIJ did not include some ads in surrounding states purchased by outside groups that did not explicitly support a Virginia candidate.
The public disclosure records show that candidates and their supporters have ramped up spending on both traditional media and digital platforms in the campaigns’ final months. Candidates’ campaign organizations spent nearly $3 million on Google ads alone, while a separate Meta report showed $613,133 spent reaching Virginia audiences on platforms including Facebook and Instagram during the latest 90-day reporting period.
The public disclosures show the scale of the election-year advertising business and the contest over what voters see and hear.
These ads are more about mobilizing a candidate's existing supporters rather than convincing undecided voters, said Chapman Rackaway, a professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at Radford University.
“Politics is a mobilization game,” he said. “You’re not going to get a lot of fence sitters to go one way or the other.”
More sophisticated voter analytics in recent years have shown that undecided voters tend not to turn out, he said, while those who identify themselves purely as independent have some of the lowest levels of voter turnout.
The Hampton Roads media market has two competitive races: Virginia Districts 1 and 2. The 1st District race between Rep. Rob Wittman and Democratic challenger Shannon Taylor is rated a toss-up by Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, while the 2nd District is considered “leaning Democratic.”
The figures put Hampton Roads clearly ahead of other regions in political ad revenue this election cycle. Portsmouth-based WAVY-TV led the outlet rankings with $14.35 million in ad orders. WVEC in Norfolk received $11.17 million, and CBS-affiliate WTKR booked $10.36 million. Together, those three stations accounted for about 44% of the television ad purchases reviewed by VCIJ. Among radio stations, Hampton Roads stations take the lead, with more than a quarter of the $3.17 million in broadcast spending going to Norfolk’s WVKL.
In Northern Virginia, Arlington TV station WJLA-TV pulled in $12.13 million in political ads, while Richmond broadcasters WTVR-TV, WWBT and WRIC-TV together accounted for $14.13 million in bookings, according to FCC filings reviewed by VCIJ.
Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Warner, running a statewide race, has spent over $7 million in ads. Warner, a three-term incumbent, is considered to be on a solid footing this campaign season.
Wittman has spent $6.7 million, while his challenger, Democrat Shannon Taylor, has spent $1.4 million, according to VPAP ad spending data.
Digital advertising has also played a key role in several campaigns. Rep. Eugene Vindman, who is seeking reelection in District 7, spent more than $700,000 on Google ads, the largest Google ad spend among candidates. Warner followed at $522,500, ahead of Wittman at $356,700. Together, those campaigns accounted for over half of direct spending by candidates’ campaign organizations on digital media.
Google and Meta require advertisers running political ads to identify who paid for them, their cost and certain audience information.
The pattern of spending shows candidates have been strategic in how they reach prospective voters, choosing to push their message on one platform rather than another.
For instance, Democratic candidates have leveraged digital platforms to reach voters more than their Republican candidates. They account for 74% of the Google ad spending, compared with roughly 26% for Republican accounts.
Over the last 90 days, Luria has spent nearly $110,000 on ads placed on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, more than double what her Republican rival Representative Jen Kiggans spent. Kiggans spent over $320,000 on Google ads compared with Luria’s $235,500.
Rackaway, author of American Government: Political Culture in an Online World, said decisions on which platforms to place ads are often left to marketing firms rather than campaign staff.
“Virginia's political campaigning is much more professionalized than it is in a lot of other states,” he said. “Any quality campaign is going to have experienced hired pros who will either know how to create an online marketing plan themselves, or they will work with a vendor who will craft the ad content and, using analytics, decide on where to place it.”
Reach Kunle Falayi at kunle.falayi@vcij.org.
