According to AdImpact, an ad-tracking firm, the 2024 federal election cycle is already surpassing the 2020 cycle by $200 million. As of May 26, a total of $382.65 million has been spent in the current cycle, compared to $182.99 million during the 2020 election cycle.

According to Inside Radio, AdImpact’s latest update states, “Spending has been more consistent in the current cycle than in 2020 across the board, as there has been a wide variety of competitive elections already in 2023.”

The increase in spending can be attributed to a larger number of candidates in the field. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), who announced his presidential bid this month, has already spent $5 million on ad buys. Most of these ads were targeted at early state voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, with a focus on the Boston and Des Moines markets.

Overall, AdImpact reveals that the 2024 presidential contest is already outpacing spending from four years ago by almost a third. At this point in the 2020 presidential election cycle, $24 million had been spent, whereas $37.1 million has been spent so far in the current race.

Former President Donald Trump and his affiliated political action committee, MAGA Inc., have collectively spent $15.7 million. Another Republican issue group supportive of Trump has also made significant expenditures. Never Back Down and MAGA Inc. have each spent at least $10.8 million. Trump and groups aligned with him account for 71% of all presidential spending thus far. Additionally, two other Republican advertisers, Perry Johnson and Vivek Ramaswamy, have each spent over one million dollars.

In contrast, President Biden has invested $3.7 million in ad buys. While the presidential race garners most of the attention, 2023 has witnessed five elections with ad spending exceeding $10 million. This contrasts with just one such occurrence in 2019. The most expensive race was the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race, which saw over $40 million in spending. The Philadelphia mayor’s race primary ranked second, with $36 million spent, followed by the Chicago mayoral contest. The Kentucky gubernatorial primary and the Jacksonville, FL primary also exceeded $10 million in ad spending.

AdImpact’s report also reveals an increase in issue spending during 2023, although at a slower rate compared to candidate spending. A total of $145 million has been spent on issue ads thus far in the current cycle, marking a 97% increase from four years ago. This is lower than the 172% increase in spending on standard election ads, which rose from $88 million to $239 million. Healthcare issues have experienced significant growth, with spending in this area rising by $11.9 million between 2019 and 2023.

According to an estimate by Fidelity, Twitter’s value has dropped to approximately $15 billion, which is about a third of the $44 billion Elon Musk and co-investors paid for the platform in October last year.

Fidelity was part of a group of outside investors that contributed over $316 million to the Twitter acquisition. This marks the fourth time since the acquisition that Fidelity has revised down its estimated value for Twitter.

According to Media Post, as of April 28, the Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund’s stake in Twitter, now under Musk X Holdings Corp., was valued at nearly $6.55 million. This is a decrease from $7.8 million as of January 31 and approximately $8.63 million at the end of November 2022.

Twitter has faced challenges in retaining major advertisers due to concerns about brand safety, as Musk has rejected most content moderation efforts. Recently, Twitter further diverged from content moderation practices by withdrawing from the European Union’s Code of Practice, which aims to combat disinformation and fake news. Twitter’s decision aligns with Musk’s inclination for reduced regulation while supporting increased transparency in political advertising for major online platforms.

To generate revenue, Twitter introduced Twitter Blue subscriptions, but as of the end of March, only 1% of monthly users had subscribed.

It’s important to note that Fidelity’s latest valuation estimate does not include the potential positive impacts of Linda Yaccarino, former NBCUniversal advertising chief, being named as Twitter’s new CEO by Musk. The May activities are not reflected in the valuation.

Twitter has not provided a comment on Fidelity’s report.

Musk’s personal investment of over $25 billion, which secured an estimated 79% ownership of Twitter, is now valued at $8.8 billion, based on Fidelity’s new estimate. This represents an $850 million decrease in Musk’s total worth, which currently stands at around $187 billion, largely driven by a 63% surge in Tesla stock this year, as reported by Bloomberg.

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) has expressed his hesitancy to support a mandate for AM radio in vehicles until car companies provide answers.

According to Inside Radio, Latta, along with three other members of Congress, will host a hearing on the issue titled “Listen Here: Why Americans Value AM Radio” on June 6. Latta stated that he will make a decision on supporting the AM for Every Vehicle Act after hearing testimony from carmakers during the hearing. The hearing is intended to be educational, but the possibility of legislation remains.

While Latta appreciated Ford’s decision to reverse its initial plan to exclude AM receivers from its vehicles, he emphasizes the need to hear from other carmakers.“It is my hope that announcing this educational hearing will show the important role AM radio stations have played for decades,” Latta said when first announcing the hearing.

Latta, along with Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN) and 100 bipartisan House colleagues, sent letters to various automakers urging them to maintain AM radio in all their vehicles. Latta mentioned that many other Republican lawmakers will wait until after the hearings to decide on supporting the bill, as they want to ensure all facts are considered.

Some lawmakers have made their stance clear on the issue. Rep. Steve Alford (R-KS) called Ford’s reversal a “first big win” in Congress and called for other automakers to follow suit. Alford emphasized the importance of preserving AM radio and highlighted the impact of public pressure.

Automakers have cited electromagnetic interference as the reason for removing AM radio from their electric vehicles. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) suggests that alternative options such as FM radio, internet streaming services, improved rural broadband, and text alerts can compensate for the loss of AM radio access.

Latta argues that lawmakers need a comprehensive understanding of the interference claims and should consider the benefits of AM radio transmission. He raises concerns about the loss of emergency broadcast capabilities if the internet were to go down, emphasizing the redundancy provided by AM radio. Latta points to past events where wireless connectivity was limited, and broadcast radio played a crucial role in disseminating essential information.

Ben Downs, owner/GM of Bryan Broadcasting, questions the need to remove AM from dashboards, stating that the argument of noise interference is unclear since the FCC has strict limits on external broadcast interference. He also believes that technical issues are not a valid reason, as existing Ford EVs and hybrids have coexisted with AM radios for years.

Opponents of the AM for Every Vehicle Act, including the CTA, predict its failure, drawing parallels to previous attempts to mandate FM radio chips in cellphones. David Donovan, President of the New York State Broadcasters Association, views it as a public safety issue and believes broadcasters have enough support in Congress to pass the bill.

On the other hand, media broker and station owner Larry Patrick doubts Congress will strongly support the legislation, noting that automakers operate internationally, and many countries have done away with AM.

The proposed legislation will go through the Communications and Technology Subcommittee chaired by Latta.