Billionaires reshape US election financing in 2024 race
The political system of the United States is driven by substantial funds that flow freely into presidential and congressional elections. In 2024, candidates, parties, and committees spent nearly 15 billion dollars, with the largest amounts coming from billionaires and powerful political groups, reports "Bloomberg."
2 November 2024 16:46
The American political scene has relied on massive financial inputs for years. In the 2024 election cycle, presidential and congressional candidates, political parties, and various political action committees (PACs) spent a total of 14.7 billion dollars, accounting for approximately 92 percent of the total expenditures in the current cycle.
Data from the Federal Election Commission shows that over 11,000 political groups were involved in the 2024 election spending. Each of these spent at least 100,000 dollars, meaning that almost all of the funds (99 percent) came from these larger entities. Among them are both major committees supported by billionaires like Elon Musk, as well as smaller interest groups.
ActBlue and WinRed, the largest fundraising committees for Democrats and Republicans, played a key role in election financing, notes "Bloomberg." They processed over 113 million donations, transferring 4.5 billion dollars to other committees. Both platforms account for more than 31 cents of every dollar spent on campaigns in the U.S., dominating financial activity.
The first such situation for Donald Trump
One of the key changes in this year's election cycle is the funding structure of Donald Trump's campaign. For the first time, his political operation raised more from the wealthiest donors than from mass donors who previously contributed small amounts below 200 dollars, reports "Bloomberg."
Super PACs supporting Trump, according to reports, have collected larger sums from three key figures: Elon Musk, billionaire Miriam Adelson, and investor Timothy Mellon. This shift towards wealthier donors indicates a change in strategy for Trump's campaign financing, which had previously relied mainly on a broad base of smaller supporters.
However, it is Vice President Kamala Harris who currently has the greatest financial advantage. With support from wealthy donors and mass supporters, her campaign has gathered resources allowing for greater expenditures. Harris has spent 875 million dollars on her campaign, significantly more than the 355 million dollars spent by Trump, it reads.
