The 2024 election will be the most expensive ever with an overall price tag of $15.9 billion. According to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks money in U.S. politics, this year’s elections will break the $15.1 billion record set in 2020.
“There may be a saturation point where elections can no longer get more expensive, but we haven’t reached it yet,” OpenSecrets Deputy Research Director Brendan Glavin said in a statement. “Super PACs and billionaires continue to spend more and more hoping to select our elected officials. And right now it is looking as though there isn’t a ceiling to how much an election in the U.S. can cost.”
According to OpenSecrets’ research, the top 10 individual donors in the country have contributed $599 million or about 7% of the total federal election fundraising. Small donors, who give under $200, account for about 16%.
Outside groups, including super PACs, have spent $2.6 billion up to this point and are projected to spend $5 billion by Election Day.
“Spending on the 2024 election cycle started slowly but ramped up significantly when Vice President Harris took over the Democratic nomination,” OpenSecrets Director of Research and Strategy Sarah Bryner stated.
OpenSecrets data shows Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and supporting groups have raised more than $1 billion since she replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in July. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign and supporting groups have brought in $642 million.
