Show us the money: How big money dominates the 2024 US election

The 2024 US statesmanlike election is connected way to beryllium the costliest predetermination successful modern history.

When Joe Biden dropped retired of the 2024 race successful June and backed Vice President Kamala Harris to look erstwhile President Donald Trump, it triggered a immense travel of currency to the Democrats. In the 24 hours aft Harris announced her candidacy, $81m flooded her run fund.

Harris’s run has been a large currency cattle for the Democratic Party. She acceptable a caller record, pulling successful $1bn successful 3 months. She entered October with a immense currency vantage implicit Trump, having outraised the Republican Party campaigner astir three-to-one, successful September, pulling successful $378m. Harris has besides edged Trump successful the conflict for small donors.

Despite a smaller warfare chest, Trump inactive has heavy pockets, raising $160m successful September. At a June event, Trump walked distant with $50m aft addressing donors for astir 45 minutes. And acknowledgment to his loyal base, erstwhile helium was recovered blameworthy of falsifying concern records successful May, Trump utilized his condemnation to rise $52.8m successful astir 24 hours, according to his campaign. Trump besides leveraged an assassination attempt and his New York mugshot to extract millions from donors.

Former US President and Republican campaigner Donald Trump has not raised arsenic overmuch wealth arsenic his hostile successful the statesmanlike election, Vice President Kamala Harris [File: Sam Wolfe/Reuters]

What are the rules of funding?

In the US, run concern is regulated by a bid of laws, which purpose to forestall corruption portion promoting transparency. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces these rules.

Individuals, organisations, and companies tin lend to governmental campaigns, but determination are limits connected however overmuch they tin springiness straight to candidates.

Individuals usually lend the lion’s stock of immoderate fixed candidate’s run funds. Wealthier donors thin to springiness more. Legally, individuals tin donate up to $3,300 per candidate, per predetermination successful the 2024 cycle.

Both parties person federal- and state-level committees that besides rise money. Candidates tin besides self-fund, arsenic Trump has partially done successful the past.

Democrats person rallied down Kamala Harris since she became the party’s nominee for president, aft President Joe Biden dropped retired of the contention [File: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]

What’s a ace PAC?

There are ways to get astir the publication limits – governmental enactment committees (PACs) and ace PACs, which play a monumental relation successful US elections. PACs excavation contributions from members and donate them to campaigns, with limits of $5,000 per campaigner per year. PACs often correspond industries similar lipid oregon aerospace, oregon absorption connected issues similar clime alteration oregon gun rights.

Super PACs, created aft a 2010 Supreme Court ruling, are funded by individuals, unions, and corporations. Unlike PACs, they tin donate unlimited amounts to autarkic organisations linked to a candidate, but cannot springiness to, oregon coordinate straight with, campaigns.

And that state allows the affluent to pump arsenic overmuch wealth arsenic they privation to enactment their preferred candidate. So far, extracurricular spending from these groups has totalled astir $2.8bn since 2010, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan radical tracking wealth successful politics. Much of that wealth funds advertising, mailings, canvassing, and online presence.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO and important monetary Trump donor Elon Musk walks to the signifier to talk alongside Republican statesmanlike campaigner erstwhile President Donald Trump astatine a run lawsuit astatine the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, October 5, 2024 [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]

What’s the impact?

The power of wealth successful authorities raises concerns. Super PACs particularly unfastened the doorway for important contributions, often raising questions astir whether elections genuinely bespeak the volition of the people oregon that of elite donors.

Elon Musk, the arguable tech billionaire — and the world’s richest idiosyncratic — who endorsed Trump, announced successful July that helium planned to donate astir $45m monthly to the America PAC, a Trump-supporting ace PAC that helium acceptable up. His fundraising efforts, focussed connected elector registration and aboriginal voting successful battleground states, person faced scrutiny. Meanwhile, Miriam Adelson, the blimpish billionaire, donated $95m to different ace PAC supporting Trump, CNN has reported.

The emergence of “dark money” — contributions not required to disclose donors — has besides made transparency harder to achieve. OpenSecrets reported an “unprecedented surge” successful acheronian wealth during the 2023 and 2024 cycles, which could surpass the $660m from chartless sources successful 2020.

Early voting has begun successful the 2024 election, but millions are inactive being pumped successful to enactment candidates and scope radical who person not yet voted [Megan Varner/Getty Images/AFP]

What’s being done?

Campaign concern betterment could assistance equilibrium the scales, but efforts advocating for stricter donation limits, transparency, and nationalist financing person not gained traction astatine the national level.

In 2022, President Biden called acheronian wealth a “serious” menace to ideology and urged Congress to walk a campaign concern bill requiring governmental groups to disclose large donors. Senate Republicans blocked the bill. There are authorities initiatives, however, helping equilibrium the scales. New York City has a nationalist matching system, wherever small-dollar donations are matched by nationalist funds, amplifying the voices of much humble contributors implicit ample donors.

Other efforts, similar the Honest Ads Act, had aimed to marque governmental advertizing much transparent, by providing much accusation connected the radical buying the advertisements. It was folded into the Freedom to Vote Act, but that has failed to walk the US Senate.