According to the New York Times, the US election campaign in 2020 broke the country’s historical record in terms of … expensive. Center for Responsive Politics predictions show that the total amount for the White House election, as well as for control of the US Senate this year will reach the 14 billion mark – twice as much as compared to the same period of 4 years ago.
In particular, the biggest expenditure is obviously for the 2020 US presidential election. Democratic candidate Joe Biden alone has poured in to 6.6 billion USD – more than the entire election campaign of 2016 Much of it is spent on TV advertising costs: up to $ 1.8 billion. Meanwhile, the presidential campaign of 2016 including the primary election only amounted to 2.4 billion USD.
Where does the campaign money come from?
According to OpenSecrets, today the money used to run for election comes from four main sources: Small individuals with donations of $200 or less, philanthropists raise more money (over $200), through commission donation committee, and ultimately the candidate’s own pocket. There are also a number of other avenues, such as dividends, deposit interests or any cash gains.
The fundraising process will start from a period when there is a politician who has ambitions to become President of the United States. This candidate will form a committee, with the task of finding out, exploring prospects and conducting campaign money raising. If there is no interest from the voters, the committee will withdraw automatically. If possible, they will stand for the election for the most powerful chair in the White House.
Requested payments must be public and legal. And in general, finance is a factor that greatly affects the ability of voters to see and vote of politicians.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the total spending from the Democratic Party of candidate Joe Biden is up to 6.9 billion USD, while the Republican Party of the incumbent President Donald Trump is only 3.8 billion USD.