The amount of money being spent on U.S. political campaigns has simply become out of control.
In fact, campaigns have become so large that Americans now spend more money on elections than some small countries make in a year. The 2020 election cost nearly $14 billion dollars, with almost half of that spent on the presidential race alone.
That’s according to data by the Center for Responsive Politics. The research group originally estimated billions less, but in the final months of 2020, political donors began to churn out huge checks to the politician of their choice.
But what is the money needed for? Does it really take millions of dollars to run for office? Political analyst for WSB-TV Bill Crane says it does, in fact. Not necessarily to get people to change their minds about who to vote for, but to raise awareness about voting.
“They certainly convince people there’s an election. I would point out and weigh in that a certain point there’s saturation, you start moving people and you actually start suppressing turnout, because people get sick of it,” Crane said.
Media exposure was certainly a prime tool for sharing political messages in 2020 through television ads and interviews with the press. And, both President trump and president-elect Joe Biden spent more than $200,000 on social media ads to target voters.
Maine and North Carolina are among a number of states that broke election records this year, with spending at $25.6 million and $20.9 million respectively.
A filing by the Federal Election Commission reported Maine democrat challenger Sara Gideon conceded her bid for the senate with nearly $15 million leftover in campaign funds. The FEC has strict rules against using the money for personal use, but politicians can use them to make charitable donations of payoff campaign debts.
A report by The Hill compared political spending to that of several small countries like Madagascar, Belize and Liechtenstein. Showing that politicians do in fact spend millions more on sharing their views to voters, than some populations use for food and water. While there are some precautions in place, politicians can still pump that money back into their party, which they often do.
The money can then be used to promote other candidates who may be running for smaller elections or need help with fundraising to be able to compete. Either way, one can only ask if that money could be better used elsewhere.
In Georgia, republican senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are running to keep their seats against Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. According to data by advertising tracker AdImpact, all four campaigns have spent more than $450 million collectively. It’s slated to become the state’s most expensive race in history.
And, despite these findings, a large portion of financial data and information will not be available until after voters make their decision on Jan. 5.
Recent political discussion has not really focused on how voters feel about exuberant amounts of spending going into their races, especially when large donations often come from outside of the state.
Meanwhile, as we near closer to the January runoffs. Voters in Georgia will continue to see billboards, social media posts and television ads calling for their attention.