Campaign Cost$
Total Cost of Elections (1998-2020)
Here are the amounts spent on all federal elections, by cycle. These figures include all money spent by presidential candidates, Senate and House candidates, political parties and independent interest groups trying to influence federal elections:
Critical Analysis
According to the table above, in presidential election years, is more money typically spent on presidential or congressional races?
What trend do you see in the data above?
Why do you think that is?
What is one consequence of this trend?
How do you think spending compares between Democrats and Republicans*?
Why is so little money spent on presidential campaigns in midterm election years (2018, 2014, 2010, etc.)?
Based on the data from the chart, predict how much money will be spent on the 2022 and 2224 elections.
How much do you think spending actually impacts the ability to win elections?
How much of that campaign spending comes from outside groups?
How much does that outside spending impact elections?
How much does all this money in politics impact democracy?
Explain how the ruling in Citizens United v. F.E.C. impacts the amount of money in elections.
The figure from the chart above is for congressional and presidential elections. What other elections are not included in that figure?
Most of that $11 billion will be spent on advertising. I was thinking how $11 billion could pay for over 150,000 Elementary School teachers’ salaries for a year. What is something else the U.S. could buy for $11 Billion?
Learning Extension
Read this explainer about how we got to this place where almost $11 will be spent on the 2020 election.
Action Extension
Look up your state on Open Secrets and see how much money people from your state have donated to politicians. You can also search by donor name.