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.
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."