Former Trump White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway is blasting the way Republicans spent their money in the 2026 midterms. She says the party “lit billions of dollars on fire” on television ads that voters weren’t watching.
Conway, a longtime conservative pollster, made the comments during an appearance with Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Both took aim at the party and the consultants who cashed in during a disastrous cycle for the GOP.
“Nobody’s home watching these TV ads. And by the way, we lit billions of dollars on fire,” Conway said. “And if you keep running that same ad in my living room, now I’m angry with you. You’re irritating me as if I didn’t hear you the first 50 times. So, there’s a lot to unpack there.”
Ingraham started the conversation by criticizing how Republicans spent their campaign cash.
“From the way our money was spent, Kellyanne, to the late buy of ads to that failure to reach young people where they are on streams and streaming broadcasts and alternative broadcasts websites, YouTube, I think Republicans have a lot to answer for in the way they spent money and consultants raked in money,” Ingraham said.
Conway agreed and said the issue has to keep being raised until it’s fixed.
“We should talk about it again and again because it won’t stop unless people recognize there’s never been cheaper, less expensive to reach a voter Laura, and we never spent more money doing it,” she said.
She also took a shot at the political consulting class.
“In this town, candidates often lose, but consultants always win,” Conway said. She added that voters are on screens, social media and streaming, and the party wasn’t reaching them there.
The numbers were staggering. As of mid-October, AdImpact found that total ad spending and reservations for this election had climbed past $10 billion, topping both the 2022 and 2020 cycles.
It didn’t pay off for Republicans. Democrats seized control of the House, and the GOP lost ground in the Senate. That included a stunning upset in Mississippi, where Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith conceded to Democrat Scott Colom.
Ingraham had warned about the consultant class before Election Day.
“These consultants drive me nuts,” Ingraham said earlier in the cycle. “They fly around in private jets. They collect a huge amount of money. And I think they’re lying to these Republican candidates. This is going to be a brutal cycle.”
President Trump has also weighed in on the losses, writing on Truth Social that “I WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT.”
The finger-pointing is the latest sign that Republicans are taking a hard look at their strategy heading into 2028, starting with how and where the party spends its money.
[READ MORE: GOP Senator Says Republicans Can ‘Forget 2028’ After Midterm Bloodbath]
