AI-Generated Political Ads Reach Roughly $137–140 Million in One Election Cycle

Spending on AI-generated political ads in the current midterm cycle has reached roughly $137 million to $140 million, up from almost nothing in a single election cycle, according to two reports. The vast majority of the ads come from Republican campaigns and show Democratic opponents in fictionalized scenarios. The latest example is Stacy Garrity, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, whose ad features an AI-generated version of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro proudly confessing to scandals.

Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative/independent outlets had. Alternative coverage, from Truthout, leads with the total of more than $137 million and the partisan imbalance, noting that most ads come from GOP campaigns. Left-leaning coverage, from CNN, leads with the jump from almost nothing to $140 million and uses the Garrity ad targeting Shapiro as a specific case. Both describe Republican candidates depicting Democratic opponents with AI and agree on the scale of spending. The totals differ slightly, and the available excerpts show no direct disagreement.