#5 - Who are the 345K missing voters who could decide 2026?

By “missing,” I mean the voters who could decide control of the U.S. Senate and will see zero political ads on their TV screen

Last week, we broke down how viewership is heavily fragmented across CTV and Linear, and why light-TV viewers matter more than people think.

At Cross Screen Media, we always factor in viewership when building media plans. But there is one subset of political audiences that most buyers overlook: the voters who see zero ads on the TV screen, we call them the None-Nones.

Who doesn’t watch TV?

85% ($9.5B) of the $11.17B spent on political video ads this cycle will be spent on the big screen (Linear or Streaming). The expectation is that those dollars will reach all persuadable voters who don’t live off the grid or under a rock.

But, 15% of American households don’t consume ads on the TV screen.

Very few watch no TV. They have cut the cord, don’t watch live sports or news, and pay for Streaming services without ads.

Of American Households:

Outside of baseball playoffs and a little football, my wife and I watch a fairly ridiculous lineup of TV. We stream 100% of TV content and have upgraded our subscriptions to see as few ads as possible (not great for business, I know). For most of the year, we fit squarely into this category.

How many persuadable voters fall into the None-Nones?

Let’s use the Senate as an example. Democrats need to net 4 seats to gain control of the upper chamber. The Cook Political Report currently lists 4 seats as Toss Ups: Georgia, Maine, Michigan, and North Carolina. Dems will need to hold Georgia and Michigan, pick up North Carolina and Maine plus two others to gain control.

Here’s the breakdown:

345K voters, 12% of likely persuadable voters are not reachable on the TV screen!!

2024 Presidential Election Vote Differential:

436K votes made the difference in these 4 states in the 2024 Presidential Election.

345K persuadable likely voters will see no ads on the TV screen in 2026. With lower turnout assumed in the midterms, this is a huge deal.

Reaching or not reaching these voters with your message can determine the outcome of elections.

What can campaigns do to reach these voters?

A comprehensive voter contact strategy is vital to success. Too often, campaign vendors fail to share information, resulting in significant inefficiencies.

The campaigns that reach these voters most effectively will have a huge advantage against their opponents who don’t.

Chauncey

Cross Screen Media