The total expenditure on the 2024 elections in the US can reach around $ 16 billion (about Rs 13,280 crores). According to Open Secrets, an NGO that researches US elections, this could be the second most expensive election. The 2020 election in the US was the most expensive. About $ 18 billion (Rs 15,500 crores) were spent on it. A total of $ 3.12 billion was spent in the 1998 elections. Now after 25 years, this expenditure has increased to about 6 times. According to the Open Secrets report, there may be a slight difference in the total expenditure, as there are still a few days left for the election. Trump is behind Kamala in total expenditure of election campaign
Vice President Kamala Harris has left former President Donald Trump far behind in terms of investing money in the election campaign. According to data from the Federal Election Commission, Kamala Harris has been spending much more than Trump since joining the presidential race. Kamala has spent more than $800 million (6 thousand 640 crores) in election campaign so far. This does not include the expenses of Super PACs supporting Kamala and her supporters. Super PACs are political groups that work to collect donations and run campaigns in support of candidates. On the other hand, Trump has spent a total of $360 million (about Rs 3 thousand crores) on his campaign. More focus on swing states, more spending on TV ads According to Open Secrets, PACs and supporters of candidates have spent more than $2 billion (Rs 17 thousand crores) in the presidential election alone. In this, groups supporting both the parties have spent about $845 million (Rs 7 thousand crores) only on targeting the opposition candidates. Most of the election expenditure has been spent on advertisements. According to the data, so far in this entire election, the Democrats (Kamala) have spent more money on TV ads than the Republicans (Trump). However, according to AdImpact’s data, as the election neared, in the last three weeks, pro-Trump ads in swing states have overtaken Kamala. In the last three weeks, more than $35 million (about Rs 300 crore) was spent on running ads in support of Trump in Pennsylvania, the most fiercely contested state, while about $30 million (about Rs 250 crore) was spent on ads for Harris. Similarly, in Wisconsin and Arizona too, Trump’s campaign has been ahead of Harris supporters. Democratic candidates spent more money than Republican candidates in Senate races Just like the presidential election, Democratic candidates have spent more than Republicans for many closely contested Senate seats. In Ohio, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown has spent four times more than his opponent Bernie Moreno. However, in the Texas Senate race, Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic candidate Colin Allred have spent almost equal amounts. Now it will be interesting to see to what extent this expenditure proves effective on election day. Power of money in American elections
Mostly only billionaires have been able to contest the American presidential election. Contesting elections in America is very expensive. In 1987, Patricia Schroeder was out before the primaries due to inability to collect funds. In American elections, it has become an essential condition for a candidate to be financially well off. Apart from this, raising money to win the election is also a big challenge. Due to the huge need for funds, the influence of PACs and outside groups has increased in American elections.
