Beto O'Rourke has spent $ 5M on Facebook?

How much do politicians and super PACs value Facebook ahead of the 2018 midterms? In some cases, hundreds of millions of dollars.

Facebook this week published its political ad archive report, which tracks every political ad on the platform between May 1 and Oct. 20, 2018. The social media platform reports that more than 1.5 million political ads more than $ 250 million.

President Donald Trump spent nearly $ 5 million on Facebook ads during that span. Trump's 2020 campaign and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee – a fundraising committee between Trump's campaign committee and the RNC.

But even Trump was outpent by Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke. The Democrat spent $ 5.3 million on Facebook between May and October. By comparison, O'Rourke's opponent Ted Cruz spent about $ 400,000 on Facebook during that same time period.

It's no secret that O'Rourke has relied heavily on social media in his push to turn Texas blue. Over the summer, he got a bump from a viral video that showed him explaining why he supports NFL players kneeling for the national anthem. One version of the video has been viewed 46 million times.

Despite O'Rourke's heavy spending, ABC News's FiveThirtyEight still gives Cruz an edge in the polls with a 7 in 9 chance that he is re-elected.

Though it is not up for re-election this fall, California Sen. Kamala Harris was one of the biggest politicians on Facebook, buying nearly 17,000 ads for more than $ 1 million. Harris is rumored to be running for President in 2020.

JB Pritzker, a Chicago businessman who is running for governor of Illinois as a Democrat, spent nearly $ 2 million on Facebook. FiveThirtyEight gives him an 11 in 12 chance of being elected governor.

ExxonMobil, the oil and gas giant, is the most widely used in 2018, pouring nearly $ 2 million into 1,700 ads. A search through Facebook's archives shows most of the company's most recent opposition to Colorado Proposition 112 – a proposal that, if passed, would require oil and gas developments at least 2,500 feet from occupied buildings, parks, creeks, and other "vulnerable areas . " Oil companies have argued that the restrictions would be too expensive and expensive.

Finally, despite calls for President Donald Trump's impeachment from some Democrats in the face of the Mueller investigation, Congressional leadership on the left to impeachment. But that has not stopped in the past.

Tom Steyer, a longtime Democratic donor ran nearly 6,000 ads on his page paid for by "Need to Impeach", a pro-impeachment fund started by Steyer. The fund is not affiliated with any Democratic candidates.

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.