This edition's trivia: Which NYC  Mayoral candidate saw the most ad support in 2021? (Answer is at the end of the newsletter)

Advertisers Target the President's Eyes

Spending on Fox News has surged in 2025, as  advertisers hope to reach President Trump's eyes on the network. Through April, Fox News has seen $19.0M in national spending, representing 69% of all national network spending. In previous off-cycle years, the network has seen considerably less activity in the early months: 2023 saw $11.6M (although $8.3M was Presidential) and 2021 saw less than $1M. The top national spender is the healthcare group Seniors 4 Better Care, which has spent $6.5M.

Their main ad tells viewers  to tell Congress to stand with President Trump and repeal the "Biden Pill Penalty." There's also $4.3M from the Department of Homeland Security, which aired a   controversial  immigration ad.

Additionally, advertisers have targeted the West Palm Beach market, home to Mar-A-Lago, in hopes of catching the President's attention. A total of $3.1M has been spent in the market in the first four months of 2025, compared to $629K in the same timeframe in 2023 and $183K in 2021. Cable makes up 69% of the spending, likely targeting the local Fox News cable networks. The top advertisers in the West Palm Beach market are the  America First Steel Alliance, Seniors 4 Better Care, and the Department of Homeland Security. While this is primarily  issue spending, there has been one advertiser targeting a candidate. Standing for Texas has  aired ads in Washington D.C. and West Palm Beach supporting Wesley Hunt, the Congressman from Texas' 38th Congressional District who is rumored to run for Senate next year. The group's overall spend is $1.7M, with $99K going to D.C. and West Palm Beach.  The President acknowledged Standing for Texas's ad.

New Jersey's Historic Gubernatorial Primary

The 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial primary has already seen $51.1M in spending and reservations, making it the most expensive New Jersey gubernatorial race on record. The 2017 race saw $21.2M, while the 2021 race saw $38.0M. Most of the money in 2021 came in the general election, where it saw $30.1M.

For this primary, most of the expenditure comes from Democratic advertisers, with their congested primary netting over $40M alone. Current NJ-05 Representative, Josh Gottheimer, has seen the most ad support at $18.2M. Steven Fulop, the current Jersey City mayor, is closely behind with $14.5M. Fulop's campaign has spent $7.4M, and he's seen an additional $7.1M in support from Coalition for Progress. Most  of the pro-Gottheimer expenditures has come from issue groups: Affordable New Jersey has spent $12.1M and No Surrender PAC has spent $1.9M. Gottheimer's campaign reserved $4.1M earlier this week. Other Democratic candidates in the primary have received considerably less ad support, including  Sean Spiller ($8.5M), Ras Baraka ($1.7M), Mikie Sherrill ($1.4M), and Steve Sweeney ($805K).

On the Republican side, Jack Ciattarelli has seen $3.0M in ad support, the top GOP candidate. Ciattarelli previously ran for New Jersey Governor in 2017 and 2021. Jon Bramnick, current NJ state senator, has seen $948K in ad support. Lastly, Bill Spadea, former radio show host, has seen $849K in ad support, but issue group Kitchen Table Conservatives has spent $1.0M against him. 

Everything Else Happening Across the Country

New York City Mayoral primary kicks off: Issue group Fix the City placed $5.8M in ads supporting Andrew Cuomo, set to run to the June primary date. Zohran Mamdani's campaign placed $187K as well. There's $200K elsewhere in the election, all attacking Cuomo so far.

The 2025 Virginia gubernatorial primary remains quiet:  As of April, only $368K has been spent, compared to $7.5M by the same point in the 2021 primary. There has yet to be a linear ad in the 2025 primary so far.

One Nation begins targeting Senate races:  Republican Senate group One Nation was the highest spending advertiser in April, spending $5.2M across Georgia, North Carolina, and Maine. They aired healthcare-related ads in the three states,  attacking  Jon Ossoff, while praising   Susan Collins and   Thom Tillis. One Nation also aired an ad  about transgender athletes  in Georgia.