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Press Release: Spending on 2024 federal elections projected to exceed previous record • OpenSecrets [1]

['Opensecrets Staff']

Date: 2024-10-08 13:00:00+00:00

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 8, 2024 — OpenSecrets predicts that the total cost of the 2024 federal election will reach $15.9 billion, on track to be the costliest ever.

While projected to be a nominal record, this figure is not expected to surpass the amount spent in 2020 if adjusted for inflation, largely due to significantly less spending on presidential primaries.

This estimate is documented in OpenSecrets’ most recent report, which both predicts the total cost of the federal election and dives into some of the main trends seen so far.

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“Spending on the 2024 election cycle started slowly but ramped up significantly when Vice President Harris took over the Democratic nomination.” said Sarah Bryner, OpenSecrets’ Director of Research and Strategy. “While it may be true that after inflation adjustments, 2024 doesn’t exceed the 2020 records, we must also remember that 2020 itself smashed previous records. And increased spending by outside spending groups and costlier House and Senate races continue to drive the total cost of the federal election upward.”

HIGHLIGHTS:

Projected 2024 total cost of election: Over $15.9 billion, surpassing the previous nominal record of $15.1 billion set in 2020. Outside groups such as super PACs have spent about $2.6 billion on the 2024 federal elections so far, outpacing all previous cycles. If current trends continue, OpenSecrets projects total outside spending will top $5 billion by Election Day. Groups spending the most money are the presidential-candidate-linked super PACs with Make America Great Again Inc. spending over $239 million supporting Trump, while Future Forward has spent over $212 million supporting Democratic presidential candidates. The top 10 individual donors have contributed $599 million — accounting for about 7% of total federal election fundraising — while small donors giving under $200 collectively account for just 16% of all money raised.

“There may be a saturation point where elections can no longer get more expensive, but we haven’t reached it yet,” said Brendan Glavin, OpenSecrets’ Deputy Research Director. ”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.”

With only four weeks until Election Day, billions more are expected to be spent on 2024 elections.

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[1] Url: https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/10/press-release-spending-2024-federal-elections-projected-exceed-previous-record-total-cost/

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