Republicans and their allied groups ran nearly 300 immigration-related ads across the country from January through June 2026. Democrats and their supporting organizations ran 62. The numbers come from an NPR analysis of data from AdImpact, a company that tracks political advertising, published July 17.

The count covered ads that either mentioned immigration or focused on it completely. The ads ran in races for Congress, governor, and other offices (NPR).

Two of the most expensive immigration ads in the data set came from Republicans. Perry Johnson, who is running for governor of Michigan, aired a $928,000 ad on the subject. A political group called MAGA KY PAC spent more than $831,000 on an ad targeting Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Massie lost his primary race to Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein (NPR).

The Massie race shows that immigration ads are not only used against Democrats. They are also used against members of the same party. A group aligned with Republican Party leaders used the issue against Massie, who had broken with Trump-era positions. The spending came at the same time as Massie's defeat. The data does not prove immigration was the reason he lost.

Cameron Shelton, a professor at Claremont McKenna College, is cited in the NPR analysis. The analysis notes that more than 90% of governor, House, and Senate seats up in 2026 are considered safe for one party. That means most races are not competitive. With the primary season more than half over by mid-July, the ads that could affect outcomes have been concentrated in a small number of races (NPR).

The ad data runs through June. In July 2026, immigration enforcement officers shot and killed people in Maine and Texas. Those events happened after the data collection period but will likely affect ad content in the months before November (NPR).

The gap between the two parties fits a pattern that goes back years. Politico reported in December 2024 that Republicans outspent Democrats five to one on immigration ads during the 2024 election cycle. Mother Jones reported in October 2018 that Republican immigration ad spending had increased more than fivefold since the 2014 cycle, when $23 million was spent. The New York Times reported in April 2024 that Republican ads were increasingly using the word "invasion" to describe immigration and the southern border.

The ACLU reviewed $247 million in immigration-related political ad spending and found that more than one-third of 745 ads examined included images of Border Patrol. AdImpact published a blog post in February 2024 titled "Immigration as Republicans Attack in Waves," showing the firm has tracked the pattern for more than two years (AdImpact).

The total amount of money expected to be spent on political ads in 2026 has gone up over time. OpenSecrets reported in January 2026 that midterm ad spending would reach a new record. AdImpact projected $10.8 billion in September 2025 (AdImpact). A revised report from AdImpact published June 11, 2026, raised that figure to $11.6 billion (AdImpact).

AdImpact's Q2 2026 report, published July 15, found that Donald Trump appeared in more than 500,000 ads during the quarter. That number was higher than ads about taxes, healthcare, immigration, or crime as separate topics (AdImpact).

The bigger picture is that ads focused on a person, rather than a specific issue, are being run more often than ads about any single topic. For the people running these campaigns, the first-half 2026 data confirms what they already know: Republicans continue to run far more immigration ads than Democrats, the number of competitive races where ads can change minds is small, and how the July enforcement shootings change ad strategy is what matters most between now and Labor Day.