With the US election over, records are showing it to be probably the most expensive campaign in history.
According to OpenSecrets, the spending, which includes congressional contests, has exceeded the $15.1 billion spent in 2020, whilst it more than doubles 2016’s $6.5 billion.
In the presidential race, the now pending former Vice President, Kamala Harris, emerged as the fundraising leader, with her campaign directly raised over $1b - with 40 percent coming from small donors, plus an additional $586 million from supporting political action committees. Donald Trump’s campaign raised $382 million directly, with 28 percent from small donors, while affiliated committees contributed $694 million.
The largest donor was Timothy Mellon, the reclusive 82-year-old banking heir who contributed $197 million to Trump and Republican causes, whilst 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 $100 million to Trump and Republican causes.
Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Michael Bloomberg was the lead donor, having contributed about $93 million ($43 million initially, plus a reported additional $50 million). Hungarian-born American businessperson, George Soros provided $56 million through his political action committee.
Altogether, $10.5 billion was 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 $2.6 billion on ads from March through November 1 – the Democrats spent $1.6 billion, while Republicans invested $993 million.
With Kamala Harris’ ads targeting abortion rights, taxation, the economy and healthcare, Trump’s mainly focussed on immigration, inflation, crime, taxation and the economy. Pennsylvania led swing state spending for the presidential contest at $264 million, followed by Michigan at $151 million and Georgia at $137 million.
Overall, Pennsylvania saw an eye watering $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 $419 million in presidential advertising, representing only 17 percent of total spending.
AdImpact revealed that, on the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, the Democrat party outspent the Republicans, $132.4 million to $24.7 million, while on X, Republicans led spending $1.1 million to Democrats’ $150,000.
