Voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday for the midterm elections, with control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate up for grabs. Significant gubernatorial races are also being decided across the country.
More than 57 million early votes have been cast nationwide as of Monday afternoon, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida. This figure is on track to surpass the more than 58 million early votes cast in the 2022 midterms.
The current cycle is poised to be the most expensive midterm election on record, with federal campaign spending projected to reach approximately $12 billion, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data by campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets. Advertising spending across House, Senate, and gubernatorial races totals about $7.1 billion, with roughly $1.4 billion of that spent between October 12 and October 25, an analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project found. The analysis by AdImpact, which included gubernatorial elections, also indicated it is the most expensive cycle on record, exceeding the 2023-2024 general election cycle.