How much does it cost to win a US election?
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The astronomical costs of US presidential campaigns continue to soar, with 2024 shaping up to be the most expensive election yet. From billionaire backers to complex funding networks, we break down the staggering numbers behind American democracy's price tag.
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In brief:
- The cost of U.S. elections is enormous, with the 2020 presidential election costing nearly $14 billion, and 2024 spending expected to be even higher. Political advertising alone is projected to cost $12.32 billion in 2024, a 30% increase from 2020.
- Campaigns are funded through various mechanisms, including individual campaign committees, Political Action Committees (PACs), and Super PACs.
- Megadonors play a significant role in funding campaigns. Examples include Michael Moritz and Michael Bloomberg for the Democrats, and Timothy Mellon and Isaac Perlmutter for the Republicans, with individual donations often reaching tens of millions of dollars.
From TV ads and billboards to travel and events, political campaigns are expensive.
“The fundraising aspect is so important to American politics in a way that fundraising is important for the Labour Party and the Conservative Party before a general election”, Jon Sopel points out on The News Agents.
But there is a key difference.
In the UK, parties can’t spend more than £34 million per general election campaign.
Just like a McDonalds Big Mac, the US of course has the supersize version where tens of billions end up being spent on presidential campaigns. And this year it is no different, with the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns set for mammoth levels of spending.
“The numbers are astonishing“, Jon says.
In fact, they could even surpass levels spent on the US election in 2020, which amounted to almost $14 billion. This was double the cost of the 2016 election.
How is the money spent?
Spending on political ads has ramped up in the last week in the US as the November 5 deadline approaches.
According to one report, an expected $12.32 billion will be spent on political advertising alone, which is a 30 percent rise from spending on advertising in 2020.
Jon points out: “I just looked at the ad sales that Donald Trump has booked in Georgia over the next couple of weeks and he is probably putting out $36 million in ad sales for the next two or three weeks in one state alone”.
Last week, the pro-Trump Super PAC MAGA Inc announced a $100 million ad buy across seven swing states for the last two and a half weeks of August.
Harris’ campaign meanwhile launched a $90 million advertising effort in the battleground states.
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Where does the money come from?
Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have a large, complex network of donors to help finance their campaigns.
These can come from individuals, corporations, labour unions and other organisations who funnel their cash through a range of different funding mechanisms available.
Campaign committees
The primary vehicle for individuals to donate are a presidential candidate’s individual campaign committees. These are set up once candidates officially launch their campaigns.
There are limits as to how much an individual can donate to them, which is why candidates may choose to set up multiple individual committees.
It is also why larger donors may funnel cash into Super PACs instead, as will be explained later.
PACs
While there are limits an individual or party, corporation or union can contribute to campaigns, Political action committees (PAC) are networks of donor groups that can pool together the money.
They put this cash towards the campaign and can coordinate directly with the candidates. But there are still limits to how much PACs can contribute to a campaign.
According to OpenSecrets, the top 10 PACs backing Trump raised around $256 million as of June 30.
The Democrat campaign raised around $165 million by the same date. That was, of course, before Biden dropped out and Harris won the nomination, leading to an injection of even more funds into the campaign.
Super PACs
Campaigns can also fundraise using outside committees, known as Super PACs. These are essentially like normal PACs, but cannot directly collaborate with the candidates they are backing.
These are not subject to funding and spending restrictions, which is why the larger donors may direct their money here.
Open Secrets says Harris’ campaign has raised more than $203 million in outside money, while Trump’s has raised over $255 million.
Super PACS also tend to be where megadonors choose to funnel their cash.
Who are the biggest megadonors?
One of the Democrats’ top megadonors - Michael Moritz - is a Silicon Valley billionaire. He was one of the loudest voices calling for Biden to step down after his disastrous TV debate in July.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave $20 million to the Democrats to support Biden back in June.
Timothy Mellon, the 81-year-old heir to the Mellon banking fortune, has given the Trump-backing super PAC MAGA Inc at least $16.5 million since 2022.
The Right for America pro-Trump super PAC received over $10 million from former Marvel Entertainment chair Isaac Perlmutter and his wife Laura.
Is there more to come?
The Democrats could be in luck this week as the party’s national convention in Chicago could be a “huge fundraising exercise”, says Lewis Goodall.
Speaking live from the event as part of The News Agents’ week-long coverage, he says: “The corporate donations, the individual donations, bringing the entire network of the Democratic Party from the top donors, the presidential candidates themselves, the top party machine, right down to the individual delegates, is the chance for them to come together before the big day.”
Listen to The News Agents coverage from the Democratic Party National Convention in Chicago.
