Show us the money: How big money dominates the 2024 US election

The US presidential election of 2024 is expected to be the most expensive election ever.

The Democrats received a sizable amount of money when Joe Biden backed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election in June and withdrew from the race. In the 24 hours after Harris announced her candidacy, $81m flooded her campaign fund.

The Democratic Party has made a significant profit from Harris’ campaign. She set a new record, pulling in $1bn in three months. She entered October with a huge cash advantage over Trump, having outraised the Republican Party candidate almost three-to-one, in September, pulling in $378m. In the fight for small donors, Harris has also beaten Trump.

Despite a smaller war chest, Trump still has deep pockets, raising $160m in September. At a June event, Trump walked away with $50m after addressing donors for roughly 45 minutes. And Trump’s campaign credited his loyal supporters with helping him when he was found guilty of falsifying business records in May and used it to raise $52.8 million in just 24 hours. Trump also extorted millions from donors through his New York mugshot and assassination attempt.

Former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump has not raised as much money as his opponent in the presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris]File: Sam Wolfe/Reuters]

What are the rules of funding?

Campaign finance is subject to a number of laws in the US that promote transparency while preventing corruption. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces these rules.

Individuals, organisations, and companies can contribute to political campaigns, but there are limits on how much they can give directly to candidates.

Individuals usually contribute the lion’s share of any given candidate’s campaign funds. Stronger donors are more generous. Legally, individuals can donate up to $3, 300 per candidate, per election in the 2024 cycle.

Both parties have federal- and state-level committees that also raise money. Candidates can also self-fund, as Trump has partially done in the past.

A supporter in a broad-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and a US flag shirt raises two fists for Kamala Harris, as a sign of support. — Democrats have rallied behind Kamala Harris since she became the party’s nominee for president, after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race]File: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]

What’s a super PAC?

Political action committees (PACs) and super PACs, both of which play a significant role in US elections, are there ways to circumvent the contribution caps. PACs pool contributions from members and donate them to campaigns, with limits of $5, 000 per candidate per year. PACs frequently address issues like climate change or gun rights, or represent sectors like oil or aerospace.

Super PACs, created after a 2010 Supreme Court ruling, are funded by individuals, unions, and corporations. Unlike PACs, they can donate unlimited amounts to independent organisations linked to a candidate, but cannot give to, or coordinate directly with, campaigns.

The wealthy can support their favorite candidate with as much money as they want with that freedom. So far, outside spending from these groups has totalled approximately $2.8bn since 2010, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group tracking money in politics. Much of that money funds advertising, mailings, canvassing, and online presence.

Elon Musk, a Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and prominent financial donor to Trump, address a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

What’s the impact?

Money’s influence in politics raises questions. Super PACs frequently raise questions about whether elections truly reflect the people’s will or that of elite donors, which is especially true when they open the door to significant contributions.

Elon Musk, the controversial tech billionaire and the richest person in the world, announced in July that he planned to donate $45 million each month to the America PAC, a super PAC he founded. His fundraising efforts, focussed on voter registration and early voting in battleground states, have faced scrutiny. Meanwhile, Miriam Adelson, the conservative billionaire, donated $95m to another super PAC supporting Trump, CNN has reported.

Transparency is also made harder by the rise of “dark money,” where donations are not required to be disclosed. OpenSecrets reported an “unprecedented surge” in dark money during the 2023 and 2024 cycles, which could surpass the $660m from unknown sources in 2020.

PACs and Super PACs can sometimes even be used to influence a different party than the one the donor supports. In the Republican-aligned donors to Democrats’ primaries earlier this year, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), for instance, was found to be the biggest source of funding, according to an analysis by Politico.

In their primaries this year, Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, two pro-Palestinian progressives, were successful in getting their money.

Georgia — Early voting has begun in the 2024 election, but millions are still being pumped in to support candidates and reach people who have not yet voted]Megan Varner/Getty Images/AFP]

What’s being done?

Campaign finance reform might help to balance the playing field, but federal efforts to promote stricter donation limits, transparency, and public funding have failed.

President Biden urged Congress to pass a campaign finance bill that mandates political organizations disclose large donors in 2022 and called dark money a “serious” threat to democracy. The bill was halted by Senate Republicans. There are state initiatives, however, helping balance the scales. Public matching is a practice in New York City that gives small-dollar donations a boost over large-donor contributions, amplifying the voices of more modest contributors.