2026live202420222020

Ad spending

Who bought your screen in 2020

Google publishes what every verified political advertiser spends on Google Search, YouTube and its display network, week by week. This is the 2020 cycle: $639M from 3,598 US advertisers, matched where the names line up to the super PACs, dark-money groups and candidates on this site. Meta does not publish a comparable file, so Facebook and Instagram are not here.

Spent on Google and YouTube

$639M

3,598 advertisers, 2019–2020

In the last eight weeks

$20M

3% of the cycle's total

Biggest week

$59M

week of 2020-10-25

Traced to this site

$414M

133 of the top 300 advertisers matched to a PAC, group or candidate

The biggest Google advertiser of the cycle was BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT, at $83M. A candidate's own committee, running in President.

When the money hit

Google ad spend by all US political advertisers, by week. The red bar is the peak.
Week of 2019-01-06: $39K2019Week of 2019-01-13: $22KWeek of 2019-01-20: $27KWeek of 2019-01-27: $27KWeek of 2019-02-03: $25KWeek of 2019-02-10: $38KWeek of 2019-02-17: $52KWeek of 2019-02-24: $54KWeek of 2019-03-03: $106KWeek of 2019-03-10: $119KWeek of 2019-03-17: $83KWeek of 2019-03-24: $64KWeek of 2019-03-31: $58KWeek of 2019-04-07: $62KWeek of 2019-04-14: $306KWeek of 2019-04-21: $156KWeek of 2019-04-28: $199KWeek of 2019-05-05: $240KWeek of 2019-05-12: $233KWeek of 2019-05-19: $215KWeek of 2019-05-26: $201KWeek of 2019-06-02: $240KWeek of 2019-06-09: $256KWeek of 2019-06-16: $347KWeek of 2019-06-23: $611KWeek of 2019-06-30: $363KWeek of 2019-07-07: $410KWeek of 2019-07-14: $485KWeek of 2019-07-21: $443KWeek of 2019-07-28: $868KWeek of 2019-08-04: $682KWeek of 2019-08-11: $599KWeek of 2019-08-18: $600KWeek of 2019-08-25: $596KWeek of 2019-09-01: $542KWeek of 2019-09-08: $890KWeek of 2019-09-15: $1.0MWeek of 2019-09-22: $1.3MWeek of 2019-09-29: $1.5MWeek of 2019-10-06: $1.4MWeek of 2019-10-13: $1.6MWeek of 2019-10-20: $1.4MWeek of 2019-10-27: $2.0MWeek of 2019-11-03: $2.5MWeek of 2019-11-10: $2.6MWeek of 2019-11-17: $3.0MWeek of 2019-11-24: $6.9MWeek of 2019-12-01: $5.6MWeek of 2019-12-08: $4.8MWeek of 2019-12-15: $6.8MWeek of 2019-12-22: $4.2MWeek of 2019-12-29: $4.3MWeek of 2020-01-05: $3.9M2020Week of 2020-01-12: $5.0MWeek of 2020-01-19: $8.9MWeek of 2020-01-26: $7.2MWeek of 2020-02-02: $9.1MWeek of 2020-02-09: $9.1MWeek of 2020-02-16: $11MWeek of 2020-02-23: $11MWeek of 2020-03-01: $11MWeek of 2020-03-08: $2.8MWeek of 2020-03-15: $2.8MWeek of 2020-03-22: $2.2MWeek of 2020-03-29: $1.9MWeek of 2020-04-05: $1.8MWeek of 2020-04-12: $2.1MWeek of 2020-04-19: $2.5MWeek of 2020-04-26: $2.7MWeek of 2020-05-03: $2.3MWeek of 2020-05-10: $3.0MWeek of 2020-05-17: $2.7MWeek of 2020-05-24: $3.6MWeek of 2020-05-31: $4.6MWeek of 2020-06-07: $4.1MWeek of 2020-06-14: $5.9MWeek of 2020-06-21: $7.0MWeek of 2020-06-28: $4.8MWeek of 2020-07-05: $5.3MWeek of 2020-07-12: $5.9MWeek of 2020-07-19: $7.1MWeek of 2020-07-26: $7.6MWeek of 2020-08-02: $8.9MWeek of 2020-08-09: $12MWeek of 2020-08-16: $20MWeek of 2020-08-23: $20MWeek of 2020-08-30: $14MWeek of 2020-09-06: $16MWeek of 2020-09-13: $22MWeek of 2020-09-20: $27MWeek of 2020-09-27: $33MWeek of 2020-10-04: $38MWeek of 2020-10-11: $43MWeek of 2020-10-18: $53M$59M · week of Oct 25$59M · week of Oct 25Week of 2020-11-01: $32MWeek of 2020-11-08: $36KWeek of 2020-11-15: $45KWeek of 2020-11-22: $42KWeek of 2020-11-29: $32KWeek of 2020-12-06: $806KWeek of 2020-12-13: $5.2MWeek of 2020-12-20: $6.1MWeek of 2020-12-27: $7.9M

Super PACs and party groups

Outside groups on this site, ranked by what they spent on Google ads.
  1. 1DSCC$13M
  2. 2Priorities USA Actionas “PRIORITIES USA”$11M
  3. 3Senate Leadership Fund$9.5M
  4. 4NRSC$8.8M
  5. 5America First Actionas “AMERICA FIRST ACTION, INC.”$7.5M
  6. 6Republican National Committee$6.6M
  7. 7Preserve America PAC$4.4M
  8. 8Americans for Prosperity Actionas “AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION INC”, “AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY”$3.9M
  9. 9NRCC$3.5M
  10. 10Congressional Leadership Fund$3.4M
  11. 11The Lincoln Project$3.1M
  12. 12House Majority PAC$2.6M
  13. 13One Nation$2.6M
  14. 14Nra Victory Fund Incas “NRA Victory Fund, Inc.”$2.1M
  15. 15Georgia Action Fund$2.1M
  16. 16DCCC$2.0M
  17. 17Alliance for a Better Minnesota Federal PACas “ALLIANCE FOR A BETTER MINNESOTA ACTION FUND”$1.7M
  18. 18Independence USA PAC$1.5M
  19. 19Progressive Turnout Project$1.4M
  20. 20Defending Democracy Together$1.2M

Candidates

Candidates' own committees, ranked by Google ad spend, with the result.
  1. 1Donald TrumpPresident · lost$124M
  2. 2Joe BidenPresident · won$99M
  3. 3Jon OssoffGeorgia Senate · won$7.5M
  4. 4Amy McGrathKentucky Senate · lost$6.7M
  5. 5Jaime HarrisonSouth Carolina Senate · lost$6.5M
  6. 6Lindsey GrahamSouth Carolina Senate · won$5.7M
  7. 7Raphael WarnockGeorgia Senate (special) · won$5.6M
  8. 8Mark KellyArizona Senate · won$4.5M
  9. 9Theresa GreenfieldIowa Senate · lost$3.4M
  10. 10Sara I. GideonMaine Senate · lost$3.1M
  11. 11Martha McSallyArizona Senate · lost$2.5M
  12. 12Steve BullockMontana Senate · lost$2.1M
  13. 13Mitch McConnellKentucky Senate · won$2.0M
  14. 14Steve DainesMontana Senate · won$2.0M
  15. 15Kelly LoefflerGeorgia Senate (special) · lost$1.9M
  16. 16John CornynTexas Senate · won$1.5M
  17. 17John W. HickenlooperColorado Senate · won$1.5M
  18. 18Barbara BollierKansas Senate · lost$1.4M
  19. 19Jim CooperTennessee 5th District · won$942K
  20. 20David A. PerdueGeorgia Senate · lost$727K

Ads next to the FEC money

For the biggest outside spenders, what they told the FEC they spent on the election and what Google says they spent on ads. Google ads are usually a sliver; most outside money goes to TV.
GroupGoogle adsOutside spending (FEC)Ads as share
DSCCSenate Democrats' party committee$13M$91M14%
Priorities USA ActionPro-Biden super PAC$11M$139M8%
Senate Leadership FundSenate Republican leadership$9.5M$294M3%
NRSCSenate Republicans' party committee$8.8M$121M7%
America First ActionPro-Trump super PAC$7.5M$134M6%
Republican National Committee$6.6M$7.1M93%
Preserve America PACSheldon and Miriam Adelson$4.4M$103M4%
Americans for Prosperity ActionKoch network$3.9M$54M7%
NRCCHouse Republicans' party committee$3.5M$81M4%
Congressional Leadership FundHouse Republican leadership$3.4M$143M2%
The Lincoln Project$3.1M$49M6%
House Majority PACHouse Democratic leadership$2.6M$139M2%

Everyone else

The biggest advertisers that are not a federal super PAC or candidate: governors, ballot measures, state parties and companies with something to say.
  • MIKE BLOOMBERG 2020 INC$62M
  • DNC SERVICES CORP / DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE$14M
  • BERNIE 2020$7.5M
  • YES ON 22 - SAVE APP-BASED JOBS & SERVICES$7.2M
  • PETE FOR AMERICA, INC.$7.0M
  • TOM STEYER 2020$5.4M
  • SMP$4.4M
  • STOP REPUBLICANS$4.1M
  • CONSERVATIVE BUZZ LLC$3.4M
  • NO ON 23 - STOP THE DANGEROUS & COSTLY DIALYSIS PROPOSITION, A COALITION OF DIALYSIS PROVIDERS, NURSES, DOCTORS AND PATIENTS$3.2M
  • Priorities USA Action & SMP$3.2M
  • SAHAK NALBANDYAN$3.1M
  • WARREN FOR PRESIDENT, INC.$3.1M
  • HOME BOX OFFICE, INC.$3.1M
  • VOTE YES FOR FAIRNESS$2.7M

Source: Google political ads transparency bundle (advertiser weekly spend), updated 2026-11-04 04:39:41. Weeks are assigned to the even-year cycle they fall in or lead up to. Advertisers are matched by name, so a group that advertises under a different name than it files with the FEC is counted under "everyone else". See About the data.