Nexxen has released a new research report examining voter behavior ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, identifying “news-avoiding voters” as a significant audience for political advertisers. The report suggests that while many Americans actively avoid traditional news outlets, they continue to engage with political content through streaming platforms, social media, creator content, audio services, search engines, and AI-powered tools. The findings highlight how data-driven advertising platforms are reshaping political campaign strategies in an increasingly fragmented digital media landscape.

Political advertising is entering another period of transformation as media consumption habits continue to shift away from traditional news outlets. A new report from Nexxen suggests that campaigns preparing for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections may need to rethink how they reach persuadable voters, particularly those who deliberately avoid conventional news but remain politically engaged.

The advertising technology company released its latest election predictions report, drawing on proprietary audience insights, historical media consumption patterns, and a survey of 1,500 U.S. adults who intend to vote in the upcoming midterms. Rather than focusing solely on partisan behavior, the report examines where campaigns can find audiences that are increasingly disconnected from traditional news ecosystems but still actively participate in elections.

According to Nexxen’s findings, nearly 40% of Americans actively avoid news, citing information overload, distrust, and fatigue. Despite distancing themselves from conventional news sources, these individuals are far from disengaged politically. The report found that 86% of respondents intend to vote in the 2026 midterm elections, while 80% reported voting in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

For political advertisers, this presents an evolving challenge. Voters are not necessarily consuming less political information—they are discovering it through different channels. Streaming television, social media feeds, creator-driven content, podcasts, digital audio, search platforms, and increasingly AI-powered search experiences have become important touchpoints where political messaging is encountered more organically rather than through scheduled news programming.

One of the report’s most notable findings is that 91% of news-avoiding voters still encounter political content passively while consuming entertainment or creator-focused media. Instead of actively seeking election coverage, they are exposed to campaign messaging embedded within broader digital experiences.

The research also highlights the growing influence of digital creators. Approximately 41% of respondents indicated that creators influence their political opinions, illustrating how personality-driven media continues to gain importance alongside traditional journalism. This trend reflects broader changes across digital advertising, where creators increasingly serve as trusted intermediaries between brands, audiences, and public discourse.

Search behavior is evolving as well. More than 35% of surveyed voters reported using search engines or AI-powered tools to help inform their political opinions. As generative AI platforms become integrated into information discovery, campaigns may increasingly need to optimize messaging not only for traditional search engines but also for AI-powered answer engines that summarize and contextualize political information.

Another strategic implication involves campaign timing. Nearly one-third of news-avoiding voters make their final voting decision during the closing weeks of an election cycle or even later, suggesting that advertisers cannot rely solely on early awareness campaigns. Instead, sustained cross-channel engagement may prove more effective throughout the campaign period.

Nexxen positions its unified advertising platform as a way for political campaigns to operationalize these audience insights. Combining its demand-side platform (DSP), supply-side platform (SSP), and Nexxen Data Platform, the company enables advertisers to activate audience segments across connected television (CTV), digital video, display advertising, mobile environments, and emerging media channels from a centralized platform.

Unified advertising infrastructure has become increasingly valuable as political campaigns seek consistent audience measurement across fragmented media ecosystems. Platforms integrating DSPs, SSPs, and proprietary audience intelligence allow campaigns to optimize media investments while maintaining frequency and messaging consistency across multiple devices and channels.

The findings align with broader digital advertising trends. According to eMarketer, political digital advertising spending continues to rise as campaigns shift budgets toward connected TV, streaming media, and digital platforms. Meanwhile, Gartner has identified AI-powered audience intelligence and predictive analytics among the technologies reshaping media buying and campaign optimization across industries.

Nexxen operates in a competitive advertising technology landscape alongside companies including The Trade Desk, Google, Amazon Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Adobe, and Criteo, all of which continue investing in AI-driven audience targeting, identity solutions, measurement technologies, and omnichannel campaign management. While many of these platforms emphasize retail media or commercial advertising, Nexxen’s latest report demonstrates how similar data infrastructure is increasingly influencing political advertising strategies.

For agencies and campaign organizations, the report reinforces a broader shift within AdTech: effective political advertising is becoming less dependent on traditional news inventory and more reliant on audience intelligence, behavioral data, AI-assisted planning, and omnichannel activation that follows voters wherever they consume digital content.

Market Landscape

Political advertising is increasingly following the same technology trends driving commercial media buying. AI-powered audience segmentation, programmatic advertising, connected TV, retail-style audience targeting, privacy-conscious identity solutions, and omnichannel measurement are becoming central to campaign strategy. As media fragmentation accelerates, advertisers are investing in platforms capable of delivering unified planning, activation, and measurement across digital ecosystems.

Strategic Outlook

Nexxen’s research signals that future political campaigns may prioritize behavioral audience insights over traditional media placement strategies. As voters continue consuming content across streaming services, creator platforms, AI search experiences, and digital audio, advertising technology platforms capable of unifying audience intelligence across channels are likely to play an increasingly significant role in campaign planning.

Top Insights

• Nexxen’s research finds that nearly 40% of Americans actively avoid traditional news while remaining politically engaged, creating new opportunities for omnichannel political advertising.
• News-avoiding voters increasingly encounter political messaging through streaming platforms, creator content, digital audio, social media, and AI-powered search experiences.
• The company’s DSP, SSP, and proprietary data platform enable campaigns to activate audience insights across connected TV, digital advertising, and emerging media channels.
• Creator influence and AI-assisted search are becoming important touchpoints for persuading undecided voters throughout the election cycle.
• The findings reinforce the growing importance of data-driven programmatic advertising and audience intelligence in modern political campaign strategies.

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