Midterm Campaigns to Spend $12B as Creators Become Political Media

Political spending is expected to hit $12 billion ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, and a growing slice of campaign strategy now looks like brand marketing: hire creators, test clipping strategies early and build sustained relationships rather than one-off posts.

Campaigns and political organizations started creator-led work earlier this cycle, testing clipping strategies and working with more creators than in previous elections, according to Digiday's reporting. The shift comes as the media marketplace grows increasingly disjointed and voters scatter across platforms.

"Creators are more than just media personalities. They have become platforms themselves, with a direct line to the exact audience political campaigns need to reach," said Zach Blume, co-founder of Portal A, a digital content and branded entertainment company. Portal A has worked with clients including San Francisco Mayors Daniel Lurie and Ed Lee, both elected as Democrats, and Michelle Obama's When We All Vote initiative.

How much of the $12 billion — a figure from ad-tracking firm AdImpact — flows to creators remains unclear. But strategists frame the 2026 midterms as an inflection point for the format.

What changes for campaigns this cycle?

"My view is that this midterm cycle marks a move from occasional creator appearances toward sustained relationships," said Alex Dahan, founder and CEO of creator marketing company Open Influence, in an emailed statement. "Creators help shape what people pay attention to, who they trust and how they see the world. That is real media power." Open Influence does not currently manage any political campaign or voting organization clients.

The audience math is straightforward. More than half of U.S. adults say they get news from social media at least sometimes, according to Pew Research. Both parties have moved to meet them there:

• Last month, the Republican National Committee invited more than 100 influencers to the midterm convention and issued special "creator" credentials for interviews, per The New York Times.
• In June, the Democratic National Committee said it would expand its Influencer and Creative Partnerships program, which currently counts more than 550 members.

The mechanics differ from commercial brand work. "A brand brief is usually about the product, the deliverables and the usage rights. A political brief adds message discipline, tighter approval, and timing tied to the election calendar," said Kyle Dulay, co-founder of influencer platform Collabstr. Dulay said political and civic campaigns have booked creators for voter registration drives, early voting and election day reminders, ballot measure explainers, issue campaigns and candidate introductions in House, state and city races.

Who pays creators — and under what rules?

HUED Collective, a communications and digital engagement consultancy, is running $600,000 to $700,000 in creator payments for political campaigns this year, said founder and managing partner Cameron C. Trimble, who served as White House director of digital engagement from 2021 to 2022.

Trimble said campaigns remain cautious about ceding creative control. "On the hard campaign sign, there's still so much focus on controlling and curating your message…" he said. "'Here's a briefing document. Does this align with your views?…If it does, we'd like you to say it in your own words.' It's almost a little more of a pay for play."

Regulation is starting to catch up. California and Texas have both passed policies requiring creators to disclose when a political campaign pays them to post, and California is considering fines for those who do not comply. Creators attending press events are not bound by the same rules that govern accredited journalists.

The trust calculus remains the constraint. "The moment an audience sees a creator as a campaign mouthpiece, the value starts to disappear. You can buy airtime. You cannot buy the audience's trust," Dahan said. How campaigns balance message control against that authenticity will determine whether the 2026 cycle cements creators as permanent political infrastructure.