The 2022 midterms were the most expensive ever


The 2022 midterms are the most expensive midterms to date, costing over $16 billion across federal and state elections.
According to OpenSecrets, the most expensive election was the Pennsylvania Senate race, which cost over $370 million. The other races in the top five are the Georgia Senate race, Arizona Senate race, Wisconsin Senate race, and Ohio Senate race. Overall, the top five collectively cost $1.3 billion, CNN reports.
The Pennsylvania Senate race was also the most expensive in the 2016 midterm — however, the total spent was almost half this year's spending at $179 million. The candidates in the race are John Fetterman (D) and Mehmet Oz (R), who have been incredibly close in the polls. Pennsylvania is also a swing state and has been pivotal to many elections, prompting high campaign activity.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The high level of spending is also an indication of the enormous amounts that candidates and PACs are willing to spend to try to swing elections, NBC News reports. The top five most expensive races are also the most pivotal races this season, with all the candidates neck and neck. Control for the Senate is also on the line, prompting more campaign spending.
"No other midterm election has seen as much money at the state and federal levels as the 2022 elections," said OpenSecrets executive director Sheila Krumholz said. "We're seeing record-breaking totals spent on elections up and down the ballot."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
Nashville dining: Far more than barbecue and hot chicken
Feature A modern approach to fine-dining, a daily-changing menu, and more
-
Music Reviews: Coco Jones and Viagra Boys
Feature "Why Not More?" and "Viagr Aboys"
-
Visa wants to let AI make credit card purchases for you
The Explainer The program will allow you to set a budget and let AI learn from your shopping preferences
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
-
Trump blames Biden for tariffs-linked contraction
speed read The US economy shrank 0.3% in the first three months of 2025, the Commerce Department reported
-
Trump says he could bring back Ábrego García but won't
Speed Read At a rally to mark his 100th day in office, the president doubled down on his unpopular immigration and economic policies