What Happened?

Three outside spending groups, known as super PACs, have spent more than $600 million combined on the 2026 U.S. Senate races, and most of it is going to the same handful of races: Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and North Carolina. Super PACs are independent political committees that can raise and spend unlimited amounts on elections, as long as they do not coordinate directly with a campaign. Senate Leadership Fund leads the three super PACs at $252.3 million spent, followed by No Going Back PAC at $191.7 million and WinSenate at $170.7 million. ​

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Senate Leadership Fund's money is overwhelmingly going toward attacks: it has spent $169 million attacking four Democratic candidates while putting less than $4 million combined into promoting two of its own Republican candidates.

Ohio's Sherrod Brown is the single most-targeted candidate of the two Republican super PACs, with Senate Leadership Fund spending $68 million against him and No Going Back PAC spending $20.2 million, a combined $88.2 million from those two groups alone.

Senate Leadership Fund's spending against Brown, $68 million, is nearly twice what it has spent against its next-largest target, Abdul El-Sayed, at $36.5 million. WinSenate has spent $95.3 million attacking its three named Republican targets, against $12.4 million in its two largest positive investments.

Both Sides, Now

Supporters of outside spending argue that super PACs allow individuals and organizations to participate freely in elections, amplifying voices beyond what individual campaigns can reach.

Critics raise concerns about transparency. The Brennan Center for Justice reported that One Nation, a group that does not publicly identify its donors, seeded WinSenate, which then spent on ads to influence Senate races, illustrating how money can flow through organizations without full public disclosure of its original source.

WinSenate is the only one of the three groups whose weekly spending is accelerating, rising $5.2 million in a single week to $33.4 million. No Going Back PAC's weekly spending edged down by $1.4 million, from $31.4 million to $30 million.

What Happens Next?

Each of the three super PACs has a committee page on the Federal Election Commission's website. In the final weeks before Election Day, super PACs must file rapid-disclosure reports, meaning new spending appears in the public record within 24 to 48 hours.

The FEC holds the authority to enforce disclosure requirements. Whether spending shifts further toward any single state or candidate is a question the next round of FEC filings will answer.

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