The months-long election marathon in the United States is coming to an end today.
In the election between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, there was also an “invisible candidate”: money.
According to the non-profit organization OpenSecrets, a total of $15.9 billion has been spent on the presidential and congressional campaigns that will be decided today. By comparison, the 2020 election campaigns raised $15.1 billion, and the 2016 election campaigns raised $6.5 billion (not adjusted for inflation).
More than 11,000 political action committees (PACs) and other political groups helped finance this election’s record-breaking spending. Nearly two-thirds of donations came from just 100 groups backed by billionaire donors.
Over 400 Americans gave at least $1 million, compared to just 23 in the 2004 election. This year, wealthy donors favored both major parties and candidates, although more contributions went to the Democratic candidate.
According to Forbes, 83 billionaires supported Vice President Kamala Harris, while 52 billionaires backed former President Donald Trump. When it comes to campaign committees and PACs supporting electioneering efforts, Harris again leads. With donations from wealthy donors like Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Laurene Powell Jobs, Reed Hastings, and Dustin Moskovitz, the Democratic candidate raised $1.6 billion.
In contrast, Trump raised $1.1 billion, with a fifth of this amount from Elon Musk and banking magnate Timothy Mellon, the largest single donor of the election. Trump also received over $100 million from Miriam Adelson, the majority owner of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
For perspective, Canada’s 2021 federal election campaign cost just $69 million (adjusted for inflation). Similarly, per capita spending on elections in the United Kingdom and Germany is one-fortieth of that in the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A recent Pew Research report shows that 8 in 10 Americans believe money has too much influence in US elections.
