It’s a marathon and a sprint
America is pretty unique in its practically unending election season. Almost as soon as the 2022 midterm results had been announced, incumbents, hopefuls, writers, and social strategists across the nation were already turning their attention to 2024 — some candidates even announced their presidential campaigns just a week later. And, even though the first Republican debate held on Wednesday took place some 440 days before any ballots for the presidency are cast, it still captured nearly 13 million viewers.
In American politics, that extensive stretch of time is necessary to build the required fundraising machine, especially as the cost of representing your fellow citizens continues to rise nearly every election cycle. Running for political office means participating in grassroots mobilization, volunteer coordination, public opinion polling, regular debating, media production, commercial filming, social media curation, and, naturally, refining those flagship policies — all of which come with hefty price tags.
Indeed, data from OpenSecrets reveals that the most recent presidential election set a new record as the most expensive cycle in history — and by some way, with political spending for the 2020 showdown tallying an eye-watering $14.4bn, or a staggering $16bn if adjusted for inflation.
Last year's midterm elections continued the trend of skyrocketing spending: the winning House candidates, for instance, shelled out $2.8m each on average. That's roughly 7x the average spend of $410k in 1990, or 3x if adjusted for inflation.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, where election campaigns can stretch over a marathon 6-year period, the price of victory was an astonishing $26.5m per candidate — and history suggests that election spending in 2024 is likely to reach even loftier heights.
A series of Supreme Court rulings have played a pivotal role in fueling this spending spree. Most notably granting the ultra-wealthy the ability to funnel unlimited funds into campaigns via "Super Political Action Committees (Super PACs)". These Super PACs can advocate for anyone or policy they like, or dislike, although they are prohibited from donating directly to candidates. They also remain anonymous — a funding arrangement often referred to as "dark money".
