Republican-aligned groups flipped the outside-money ledger on October 19, booking $2.35 million in broadcast airtime against $166,000 for Democratic-aligned groups, a 14.1-to-1 ratio, after Democratic-aligned groups held a $479,000 lead the day before. Two new market entries account for nearly the entire Republican total, which matters for anyone tracking whether today's shift reflects a broad reallocation or a pair of isolated buys. ​

Today's Republican total sits below the side's 14-day daily average of $4.07 million, and the Democratic total is below its $1.57 million average, consistent with a light filing day for both sides.

Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican-aligned group, booked $1.19 million in North Carolina's Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News market after $0 there yesterday; No Going Back PAC, also Republican-aligned, booked $1.11 million in Arizona's Phoenix (Prescott) market, also after $0 yesterday. Of North Carolina's total, $81,000 names North Carolina's 1st U.S. House District, a Toss-up race between Don Davis (D) and Laurie Buckhout (R); Democratic-aligned groups booked nothing naming that race today. Arizona's $1.11 million carries no race identifier, so it counts for the state alone.

Airtime already reserved for flights still to run in North Carolina stands at $15.73 million for Democratic-aligned groups against $14.01 million for Republican-aligned groups.

In Ohio, WinSenate, a Democratic-aligned group, was the only source of Democratic-aligned airtime, booking $166,000 down from $306,000 yesterday, while Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican-aligned group, booked $1,000 naming the Ohio U.S. Senate Seat (Class III), a Toss-up race between Sherrod Brown (D) and Jon Husted (R). Ohio's forward book holds $13.56 million reserved for Democratic-aligned groups against $10.31 million for Republican-aligned groups in the next two broadcast weeks, consistent with today's Democratic cut reflecting filing timing rather than a shift in future plans.

The forward book for the week starting October 19 holds $69.20 million for Republican-aligned groups against $81.21 million for Democratic-aligned groups; the week starting October 26 narrows to $7.94 million Republican-aligned against $5.63 million Democratic-aligned.

Methodology and caveats

The source is the FCC political files of broadcast, cable, radio and satellite stations, compiled by Legis1; each record is a filed change to an ad reservation, so figures are airtime booked, not money spent, and filings typically appear within a day or two of the order. Sides are classified by the filing's sponsor party for super PACs, hybrid PACs and 501(c)(4) groups; national party committees are excluded from the totals and shown only as a comparator, with $304,000 today for Democratic committees and no figure reported for Republican committees. Digital and streaming buys, groups that never file with stations, and candidates' own buys are excluded. A filing is tied to a race only when the order names a candidate or prints the race; state totals cover every filing and race figures do not.

Republican-aligned groups' net airtime booked per day, last 14 days. Net new broadcast airtime booked per day; cuts and cancellations subtract. Oct 19, 2026 $1.2M.

Democratic-aligned groups' net airtime booked per day, last 14 days. Net new broadcast airtime booked per day; cuts and cancellations subtract. Oct 18, 2026 $166.1K.

Largest races among the filings that name one. Net airtime booked by race, counting only filings that name a candidate or print the race; airtime filed for a state without a race is in the state totals, not here. NC-01 $81.3K, OH-SEN $930. Covers 3% of the net dollars; records without a Race are not shown.

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