Record high US$15.9 billion spent on US election campaigns
THE 2024 US election, which went to the polls on Tuesday, is set to become the most expensive in history, with total contributions reaching US$15.9 billion.
The spending, which includes congressional contests, will surpass the US$15.1 billion spent in 2020 and more than double 2016’s US$6.5 billion, according to nonprofit OpenSecrets.
In the hotly contested presidential race, Vice-President Kamala Harris has emerged as the fundraising leader.
Her campaign directly raised over US$1 billion, with 40 per cent coming from small donors, plus an additional US$586 million from supporting political action committees.
Donald Trump’s campaign raised US$382 million directly, with 28 per cent from small donors, while affiliated committees contributed US$694 million.
The largest donor was Timothy Mellon, the reclusive 82-year-old banking heir who contributed US$197 million to Trump and Republican causes.
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Other major Republican supporters included Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein from the packaging industry, casino magnate Miriam Adelson, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and hedge fund investor Kenneth Griffin - each contributing over US$100 million to Trump and Republican causes.
On the Democratic side, Michael Bloomberg has emerged as the leading donor, contributing about US$93 million (US$43 million initially, plus a reported additional US$50 million).
George Soros provided US$56 million through his political action committee.
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Altogether, US$10.5 billion has been spent on campaign ads for races from president down to local officials, according to data compiled by the ad tracking firm AdImpact.
The Harris and Trump presidential campaigns spent US$2.6 billion on ads from March through Nov 1. Democrats spent US$1.6 billion, while Republicans invested US$993 million.
Themes hammered home in Harris ads have been taxation, abortion rights, the economy and healthcare. Trump ads have mainly underlined immigration, inflation, crime, taxation, as well as the economy.
Pennsylvania led swing-state spending for the presidential contest at US$264 million, followed by Michigan at US$151 million and Georgia at US$137 million.
Overall, Pennsylvania saw an eye watering US$1.2 billion on all races, all the way down to local officials, in the cycle.
Despite the shift to online entertainment, digital platforms received US$419 million in presidential advertising, representing only 17 per cent of total spending.
On Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram, Democrats outspent Republicans US$132.4 million to US$24.7 million, while on X, Republicans led spending US$1.1 million to Democrats’ US$150,000, AdImpact said. AFP
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