In Other News · United States · Politics

Source: Axios

The top Senate GOP super PAC has nearly tripled its spending on streaming and social media platforms this election cycle to more than $200 million, Axios has learned.Why it matters: In a record cycle for ad spending, more political money is shifting to streaming, where super PACs have greater freedom to target voters, bargain and experiment — but platforms have more power to set the rules.In some states, streaming and social media have swallowed half of the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) budget, according to a source familiar with the group's spending. SLF's $200M+ total for the 2026 cycle (up from $71M in 2024) doesn't include tens of millions of dollars funneled through the SLF-linked Texas PAC.The other side: The top Senate Democratic super PAC declined to provide a dollar figure for their spending on streaming."Senate Majority PAC invested more this cycle in digital communications than any previous cycle, running digital campaigns in 12 states," SMP communications director Lauren French told Axios.Zoom in: Streaming and social platforms offer campaigns the power to target more specific audiences compared to traditional broadcast, and make it easier to measure the impact. "Its way more surgical than a linear broadcast buy," Zack Roday, managing director...