Georgia Senate Runoff Elections Drive Nearly $500 Million in Ad Dollars

As expected, Tuesday’s twin-bill of Senate runoff elections in Georgia has led to a massive influx of campaign ad dollars on television in the state. The races between Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue against Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have generated $486 million in ad dollars, according to ad-tracking firm Ad Impact. Of that, $458 million was spent on TV ads in the battleground state. Individually, the Perdue-Ossoff race has driven $249 million in ad spending, while Loeffler-Warnock drew $237 million. Overall, the Republican side outspent the Democrats $268 million to $217 million, with $137 million going to Loeffler’s campaign. The data from ad impact covers bookings through Tuesday, the day of the special election. Also Read: Georgia's Senate Runoff Could Be a Billion-Dollar Windfall for Local TV While Georgia has seen record-breaking down-ballot campaign spending in prior years, there is nothing that matches the intrigue and importance this time around. This year alone has already seen a new record for a Senate race in North Carolina, which surpassed $270 million. And that was just for one race. Tuesday’s election carries massive stakes since a victory for Warnock and Ossoff would lead to a 50-50 split...

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