Spanberger and Miyares lead in Virginia campaign ad spending

By the numbers: In the governor's race, Democrat Abigail Spanberger and her allies have spent $50 million on ads for Tuesday's election, according to the latest data from ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

• The bulk of that spending — just over $17 million — has gone to broadcast TV ads, per the firm.
• Republican nominee Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and GOP groups have spent $25 million on ads, including nearly $10 million on broadcast TV.

Meanwhile, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and supporters have invested nearly the same amount — just under $22 million — to get the Republican incumbent reelected.

• Just under $14 million has been spent in support of his Democratic challenger Jay Jones.

Spending in the races for lieutenant governor comes in much lower.

• Nearly $6 million has been spent on ads for Democratic candidate Ghazala Hashmi, while GOP candidate John Reid's ad spending hasn't cracked $1 million.

The intrigue: The 2025 gubernatorial race isn't the most expensive in Virginia's recent history.

• That title looks like it may still belong to the combined $80 million race between Gov. Youngkin and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2021, per AdImpact.