Never before has a midterm election ad spend exceeded the previous presidential cycle; this 2026 midterm is shaping up to be the first. Additionally, CTV spend is expected to reach an all-time high share of budget, accounting for more than 25% of total political ad spend, a number that has doubled since 2022.1 This is creating major opportunities for publishers while raising the bar for how easy, fast, and effective it is for political advertisers to work with them.
As more political buyers shift toward programmatic CTV, publishers need to prepare for the compressed schedule of spend, the majority of which will occur in the fifty-seven days between Labor Day and Election Day. The publishers that can deliver precision, speed, and premium environments will be better positioned to capture share.
At this year’s annual FreeWheel Premium Programmatic Summit, I had the chance to sit down with two executives from the political agency world; Eric Harpootian, VP at Strategic Media Services and Scott Syroka, Co-Founder at PUNCH, to discuss how publishers can best prepare as more ad dollars flow to programmatic CTV and streaming ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Make it easy to target at scale
Political advertisers are under pressure to reach very specific voter audiences without wasting impressions. That is especially important as voters become more issue-led and campaigns look to tailor messaging around topics such as policy, advocacy and voter turnout. Publishers can stand out by making it easier for buyers to activate data-driven audience segments across premium video at meaningful scale—whether through voter-file data, behavioral audiences, contextual signals or trusted data partnerships.
When it comes to data, the more data publishers can provide the better. As Eric called out, “The more audience data publishers can provide, the better. If we’re targeting Republican primary voters, we want to understand not just who’s watching Fox News, but what they’re watching beyond that. The more audience insights and data we have at our fingertips, the easier it is to build and sell effective campaigns to our clients.”
Provide reliable support
Political is “always on,” especially on the countdown to Election Day. Messaging can change quickly based on breaking news, candidate developments, legislative shifts, or last-minute fund-raising.
Buyers need partners that can move in hours, not days. That means publishers should prioritize operational readiness: clear inventory availability, fast deal setup, creative pre-approval, streamlined transcoding and responsive support when campaigns need to adjust on the fly. If a publisher cannot get a campaign live quickly, those dollars may move somewhere else.
Scott reinforced this by saying, “In political advertising, speed and reliability matter. Election Day doesn’t move, so time is always of the essence. When I’m building a campaign, I know which publishers can get me avails within hours and which ones can’t. The same goes for creative approval. Publishers that make it easy to get campaigns live quickly, with pre-approved creative, fast responses, and reliable support, are the ones that win more dollars and earn repeat business.”
Offer programmatic access to premium inventory and live events
For political advertisers, environment matters. Campaigns want their messages to appear in high-quality, brand-safe premium video that can capture attention and build credibility. Publishers should package premium inventory in ways that align with political buying needs, including news, sports, tentpoles, and other live events where engaged audiences are watching in real time. Transparent availability around these opportunities can help buyers plan more confidently and move more dollars into trusted publisher environments.
As Eric noted, “Beyond speed, publishers should be proactive in showcasing their inventory. If we know a particular show, live event, or tentpole resonates with our target audience, that’s where we want to be. The more visibility publishers can provide into their programming, audience composition, and premium inventory available programmatically, the easier it is for us to identify opportunities and direct spend their way.”
Scott echoed this by saying, “Many political buyers come to digital with a TV mindset and are looking for marquee events like the World Cup, NBA Finals, March Madness, and other premium programming they know voter audiences are already watching. Publishers that proactively highlight those opportunities and make them available programmatically put themselves in a much better position to capture political spend.”
How publishers can better capture programmatic streaming dollars
As political budgets accelerate and streaming becomes a more important part of the media mix, publishers have a clear opening to win more demand. The publishers best positioned for this cycle and beyond will be the ones that make buying simple, targeting precise, activation fast and premium inventory easy to access when campaigns need it most.
To learn how FreeWheel enables programmatic CTV and streaming for political advertising at scale, contact us.
Source:
- Kinetiq, 2026 Political Media Forecast, April 2026.
