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The 2024 election cycle is going to be very, very expensive

So far, outside spending far surpasses 2020’s pace, says Sheila Krumholz of OpenSecrets. But where’s the money coming from?
The campaigns of Donald Trump and Joe Biden each raised more than $24 million in the third quarter.
Scott Olson and Mark Makela/Getty Images

Georgia Senate race is now the most expensive of the 2022 midterms

Dec 6, 2022
Here's where that money has come from, and where it's going.
Local resident Reniya Weekes holds a sign to encourage people to vote early outside a polling station on November 29, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Conservative groups are spending big on school board races

Nov 7, 2022
Traditionally, school board candidates spend $1,000 or less. But one political action committee is spending about 20 times that per race.
Above, a volunteer of Moms for Liberty attends a school board campaign event in Florida. The conservative group spent $50,000 on races in the state, according to the group's co-founder.
Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

Which states are doing something about "dark money"?

There's Arizona's citizen-led initiative in 2022. And voters in Alaska and North Dakota passed similar measures in previous years.
Arizona voters will decide on Proposition 211 this November. Voters in just a couple of other states have passed similar measures that came from citizen-led initiatives.
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace

Money is still flooding into the campaigns. But how to spend it?

Oct 22, 2020
In the final run-up to Election Day, campaigns, parties and outside groups are rushing to spend unprecedented cash on hand.
Television screens air the first presidential debate at a sports bar on Sept. 29, in Washington, D.C.
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Is chasing swing voters a waste of campaign money?

Sep 28, 2020
Most voters have already decided whom they want for president, experts say. Will undecideds vote at all?
One swing voter researcher said "these voters may not be motivated to vote at all in the 2020 election."
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Presidential campaigns are dramatically crowding out TV ad space

Jan 31, 2020
More than 100,000 political ads have aired in Iowa so far, up 65% on 2016.
Six of the remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls at the seventh Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 14, 2020.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Billionaire donations are driving midterm spending

Oct 23, 2018
High net worth giving is making this midterm campaign one of the most expensive ever.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gestures to the crowd as he walks on stage to deliver remarks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Billionaire donations are driving midterm spending

Oct 23, 2018
High net worth giving is making this midterm campaign one of the most expensive ever.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gestures to the crowd as he walks on stage to deliver remarks on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

There is more proof some very big money is behind the midterm elections

Oct 15, 2018
More women are contributing money, and more of that money is backing female candidates.
Shaun Heasley/Getty Images