Millions have already been raised for the 2024 presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. But where does that money come from? Here's how the ultra-rich can sway an election.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00We've never seen this much money flow into U.S. elections, and in recent years, big donors
00:05like Ken Griffin, George Soros, and Reid Hoffman have contributed to swing election outcomes.
00:10So how much is being raised?
00:12Where does that money go?
00:13And can that make or break an election?
00:15I'm John Dorman, and I'm a senior politics reporter at Business Insider.
00:19Seeing billions upon billions upon billions of dollars raised is a relatively recent phenomenon
00:24in American politics.
00:25The first time that both presidential campaigns raised over a billion dollars was in 2012
00:30in the race between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney.
00:33It was a historic achievement.
00:34Those numbers have only gone up.
00:36In the 2020 cycle, there was $14.4 billion that was raised between congressional races
00:42and a presidential race, which is a huge amount of money.
00:46Here are the consequences of so much money flowing into elections.
00:49Usually, candidates who spend more money win their races.
00:52In 2022, nearly 94% of House candidates who raised the most money won their races.
00:57And for the Senate races that year, roughly 82% of Senate candidates who raised the most
01:02money won their races.
01:03But for presidential campaigns, things are a bit different.
01:07For example, in 2016, Hillary Clinton raised more money than Donald Trump, but she lost
01:12the election.
01:13So there's not always a clear correlation between how much is raised and who actually
01:18wins the election.
01:20The campaign money goes towards everything, including hosting rallies, to opening offices
01:25and hiring staff in swing states, and to consulting fees.
01:28But the biggest thing would be advertising, whether it's direct mail, whether it's television,
01:34radio advertisements, and also social media ads.
01:39Candidates are trying to figure out a way to reach voters, and they'll use whatever
01:42methods that they can in order to do that.
01:46Fundraising is a critical part of any presidential campaign.
01:50The most prominent example of this is after Biden's disastrous debate in June, which
01:55left many Democrats fretting and nervous.
01:57You raise a deficit larger than any president has in any one term.
02:01You had the actor George Clooney, who asked Biden to step aside.
02:03You had major Democratic donors, such as Abigail Disney, who said that she wouldn't donate
02:09money to the campaign any longer if Biden was the nominee.
02:12For them not to contribute money meant that the campaign was going to struggle.
02:16Once people saw that basically the faucet was turning off, that really influenced the
02:21campaign, and it likely contributed to Biden exiting the race.
02:25An immense amount of money has already been raised for the 2024 presidential race, and
02:29right now Democrats have the momentum in terms of how much has been raised.
02:33Vice President Kamala Harris raised $310 million in July alone.
02:38Part of that money was inherited from the Biden campaign and rolled over to her campaign.
02:43We thank Joe Biden each and every day.
02:47So now she has $377 million cash on hand.
02:50Former President Donald Trump has $327 million cash on hand.
02:54So the Democrats are about $15 million ahead.
02:57They have momentum at the moment on the day that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was announced
03:02as Kamala Harris's running mate.
03:04Listen, I want you to do this with me.
03:07Let's do this together.
03:08Would you be my running mate?
03:10ActBlue took in about $20 million on that day alone, a really big sum, and it shows
03:15that Democrats are really motivated, whereas they didn't have that about a month ago.
03:20There are three ways that money can be donated, whether it's individual contributions, or
03:24through PACs or through super PACs.
03:27Individual contributions are subject to strict limits under federal law.
03:30Individuals can only contribute up to $6,600 for an election cycle.
03:34And then you have PACs, political action committees.
03:37They contribute money to campaigns, and they can be formed for businesses or organizations.
03:42There's a $5,000 limit for an individual candidate committee.
03:46And then you have super PACs, which can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and
03:50corporations.
03:51They can have a huge impact on American elections.
03:54Wealthy donors are increasingly playing a huge role in shaping American politics.
03:59In the 2022 midterm election cycle, billionaires contributed about $880 million.
04:05But small-dollar donations are also an important part of elections, and we're seeing that play
04:10out in the presidential race.
04:11The influx of money to campaigns is often uneven, and big events can influence how people
04:17donate to campaigns.
04:19For example, when Vice President Kamala Harris announced her candidacy for president after
04:23President Joe Biden stepped aside, she raised about $81 million within 24 hours from 880,000
04:29people.
04:30That's a huge figure, and that's unprecedented.
04:33Stand to my face.
04:38Trump's legal issues have also caused an influx of money to his GOP presidential campaign.
04:42Mr. Trump, how long has it been since you've been convicted of violence?
04:45In May 2024, Trump and his allies super PAC raised $140 million, and much of that money
04:51came after he was convicted of 34 felony counts.
04:54This was a disgrace.
04:56There's money coming into these campaigns from all across the country, but a few players
05:00could have a huge impact on the upcoming election.
05:02For example, George Soros gave $60 million through a nonprofit that he founded to the
05:07Democracy PAC in April 2024.
05:10That money is going to go to aid House and Senate Democratic candidates.
05:13And this isn't the first time that George Soros has done this.
05:15He's been a prolific donor for a long time.
05:18In the 2022 midterm cycle alone, Soros gave $170 million.
05:24Another major 2024 figure is Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
05:28Musk has been very supportive of former President Donald Trump.
05:32And the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Musk would be donating $45 million a
05:36month to help Republican campaign efforts through the end of the election.
05:41But when contacted, Musk denied it and said that he wouldn't be doing that.
05:45Another example is Reed Hastings.
05:46The Netflix co-founder contributed $7 million to a super PAC affiliated with Kamala Harris
05:52in late July.
05:53And then there are people that we've never heard of.
05:55For example, there's Timothy Mellon.
05:57He contributed $50 million to a pro-Trump super PAC the day after Trump was convicted
06:02in a Manhattan court.
06:03It's one of the largest single contributions ever.
06:05And then you have Linda McMahon.
06:08She served in Trump's cabinet and she's already donated $10 million to a pro-Trump super PAC
06:12in this cycle.
06:14But it's also the policies of elected officials that can be influenced depending on who donates
06:18money.
06:19For example, politicians may have to prioritize the interests of donors who've contributed
06:23to their campaigns.
06:25If you look at Trump, oil and gas interests are lining up behind his campaign because
06:29of his strong support of the fossil fuel industry.
06:31And they're expecting to have his ear in the White House should he win again.
06:36Americans continue to want money out of politics.
06:3872% of Americans indicated that they would like to see limits on how much individuals
06:43or organizations can contribute to political campaigns.
06:46But right now, money has become an increasingly larger part of how our political system functions.
06:55For more stories, visit nyseagrant.org