The 2024 US presidential election is poised to become the most expensive in modern history. Billions of dollars are being poured into campaigns, but where is all this money coming from?
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| As of mid-October 2024, candidates and their allies in the 2024 US election campaigns had raised a total of more than $3.8 billion. (Source: Daily Kos) |
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When Joe Biden dropped out of the White House race in June 2024 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to challenge former President Donald Trump, it triggered a massive influx of money into the Democratic Party.
Within 24 hours of Harris announcing her candidacy, $81 million had poured into her campaign fund.
Harris's campaign has set a new record, raising $1 billion in just three months, three times more than Trump's campaign fund. She enters October 2024 with a significant cash advantage over Trump. Harris has also surpassed her opponent in the battle for smaller donors.
Even so, Mr. Trump still has plenty of money. He had raised $160 million by September 2024.
At an event in June 2024, the former president pocketed $50 million after speaking to donors for about 45 minutes. And thanks to his loyal support base, when convicted of falsifying business records in May, Trump used his conviction to raise $52.8 million in about 24 hours.
As of mid-October 2024, the candidates and their allies had raised a total of more than $3.8 billion. Of that, groups supporting President Biden and Ms. Harris raised $2.2 billion, more than the $1.7 billion raised by Mr. Trump's group.
A recent analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness shows that the reason campaign funds have raised such huge sums of money is partly due to the fact that the 150 wealthiest families in the world's largest economy have poured nearly $1.9 billion into this year's election campaigns.
This figure represents a significant increase compared to the $1.2 billion they contributed to the 2020 election campaign.
Revealing the sponsorship regulations
In the United States, campaign funding is regulated by a series of laws aimed at preventing corruption while promoting transparency. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces these rules.
Individuals, organizations, and companies can contribute to political campaigns, but there are limits on the amount they can donate directly to candidates.
Individuals typically contribute the majority of a candidate's campaign funds.
Wealthier donors tend to contribute more. Legally, individuals can donate up to $3,300 per candidate and per election in 2024.
Both parties have federal and state committees that also raise funds. Candidates can also self-fund, as Trump has done. He personally funded his White House campaign, raising $66 million in the 2016 race.
Previously, billionaire Ross Perot had donated $60 million to his 1992 independence campaign, securing 19% of the popular vote.
During the 2020 Democratic primary, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent $1.1 billion, while fund manager Tom Steyer invested $342 million in his campaign.
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| Billionaire Elon Musk, a major donor to Donald Trump. (Source: Getty Images) |
What is a Super PAC?
In US elections, political action committees (PACs) and super PACs play a huge role.
PACs pool contributions from members and donate to campaigns, with a limit of $5,000 per candidate per year. PACs typically represent industries such as oil and aerospace, or focus on issues like climate change.
Meanwhile, super PACs are donations from individuals, unions, and corporations. Unlike regular PACs, super PACs can donate unlimited amounts to independent organizations affiliated with the candidate.
And that freedom allows wealthy people to pump as much money as they like to support their preferred candidate.
Public confidence is shaken.
The overwhelming influence of funding has severely eroded public trust in American democratic politics.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, Americans' trust in their government has plummeted from 52% in 1972 to 22% in April 2024.
Elon Musk – the tech billionaire and the world's richest man – is a supporter of Trump.
In July 2024, he planned to donate approximately $45 million per month to America PAC – a super PAC supporting former President Trump that he founded.
Musk's fundraising efforts—focused on voter registration and early voting in battleground states—have faced intense scrutiny.
Meanwhile, billionaire Miriam Adelson donated $95 million to another super PAC that supports Trump.
The rise of “black money”—donations that do not require the donor to be disclosed—also makes achieving transparency more difficult.
The non-profit organization OpenSecrets has reported an “unprecedented increase” in “black money” during the 2023-2024 cycle, potentially exceeding $660 million from unidentified sources.
In 2022, President Biden called "dark money" a "serious" threat to democracy and urged Congress to pass campaign finance legislation requiring political groups to disclose major donors.
The Republican Party in the Senate blocked the aforementioned bill.
The most important thing is not money.
The question is whether the massive influx of money from billionaires' super PACs will determine the outcome of the 2024 election.
It is undeniable that the financial resources of American billionaires contribute to the success of a candidate. Because the outcome of the US presidential election often depends on a few swing states, the money that billionaires pour into these states to mobilize voters benefits their preferred presidential candidate.
Let's revisit the super PAC - America PAC - of billionaire Elon Musk. America PAC is focusing on campaigning in battleground states that could decide the election outcome. America PAC has spent heavily on advertising and staff going door-to-door to encourage people to vote for Trump.
Even so, the world's largest economy currently has around 800 billionaires, but there are approximately 244 million Americans eligible to vote in this year's election.
The answer has probably been highlighted by the American political analysis website Common Dreams : "Regardless of the amount of money the super-rich put into this process, whether transparent or 'black money,' the outcome will ultimately be decided by the voters."
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bau-cu-my-2024-tien-o-dau-ma-nhieu-the-292595.html
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