Midterm spending hits record $17bn as parties blame each other over the economy

‘We’re seeing record-breaking totals spent on elections up and down the ballot,’ campaign finance watchdog exec says

Spending on the midterm elections is expected to reach nearly $17bn this year, far exceeding the previous record set in 2018.

Campaign finance watchdog Open Secrets is projecting $8.9bn will be spent in federal elections, and an additional $7.8bn on state races in 2022.

Figures from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show candidates and political action committees in federal races had spent more than $7.5bn as of Tuesday, surpassing a previous record of $7.1bn.

“We’re seeing record-breaking totals spent on elections up and down the ballot,” OpenSecrets executive director Sheila Krumholz said in a statement.

Five of the six most expensive elections are in Senate campaigns rated as toss ups by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

The priciest is in Pennsylvania, where $343m has already been spent in the contest between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz.

The Georgia race between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock is the next most expensive, with candidates and outside interests pouring more than $255m into the race, according to the latest FEC figures.

Inflation-adjusted data from the Federal Election Commission shows the rapid increase in campaign spending by both parties (OpenSecrets)

Tight Senate races in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona are the most expensive races in the 2022 midterms (OpenSecrets)

OpenSecrets noted that the biggest spender in the 2022 cycle is the Mitch McConnell-aligned super PAC Senate Leadership Fund, which as pumped more than $205m into races.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a hybrid PAC affiliated with Republican House leadership, has spent more than $188m, according to FEC figures.

Leaders from both parties have accused each other of reckless spending, which sent inflation to its highest levels in 40 years and left the US economy teetering on the edge of recession.

Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy has promised to force cuts to federal spending on Social Security and Medicare.

“You can’t just continue down the path to keep spending and adding to the debt,” he told Punchbowl News in a recent interview, adding he would use the US’s debt limit as leverage.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that the Trump administration had been profligate in adding $7 trillion to the national debt in just four years.

“Republicans only hold the borrowing cap hostage when Democrats are in the White House.”