Want to run for the U.S. House of Representatives and serve your neighbors? Do you have $2 million dollars? That’s about what it’ll cost you to win an election for a House seat.

Want to run for the U.S. Senate and serve the people of your great state? It’ll cost you about $20 million to win.

Nearly 94% of House candidates and 82% of Senate candidates that outspent their opponents won their elections.

In 2020, over $14 billion was spent on all federal elections, making it the most expensive election cycle in U.S. history (so far).

It’s a complex beast to run for office. If you want to win, you’ve got to consider:

• Advertising & Influence: You’ll want to run effective television, radio and social media ads to get your message and qualifications out there to as many voters as possible
• Campaign Infrastructure & Staffing: You’ll need skilled staff who can do media buys, coordinate campaign activities, recruit volunteers, give you good advice, and more. These people might have salaries, travel costs, and other expenses.
• Voter Mobilization and Outreach: Money lets you put on events and rallies that can generate media coverage and energize supporters. Money lets you send mail to potential supporters and lets you call and text them asking for their support.
• Reach and Polling: Knowing how you’re polling in the race, which demographics of voters you need to get your message in front of, and research on your opposition can give you the edge you need to win. And none of it is cheap.

Not exactly a groundbreaking insight, is it?

Sure, a candidate may be the incumbent and have an advantage with built-in name recognition, or they could catch fire for speaking out about a particular issue and get free media coverage, or perhaps they have a magnetic personality that allows them to attract many willing volunteers and build an exciting ground game.

But, at the end of the day, it’s really all about the money: nearly 94% of House candidates and 82% of Senate candidates that outspent their opponents won their elections.

For the most part, most candidates, regardless of party affiliation, are getting upwards of 70% of their money from corporations, special interest groups, or wealthy individuals.

Common sources of campaign cash include:

• Small-dollar donations: Contributions typically less than $200, often collected through online platforms and grassroots fundraising efforts.
• Large-dollar donations: Contributions exceeding $200, often from wealthier individuals.
• Self-funding: Candidates can use their personal wealth to finance their campaigns, like Mike Bloomberg who spent $1 billion of his own money on his presidential campaign.
• Political Action Committees (PACs) and Super PACs:
  • PACs: Organizations that collect funds from members and donate them to campaigns. There are different types of PACs like corporate PACs, labor PACs, and ideological PACs.
  • Super PACs: Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose candidates. Since 2010, the amount of money spent by Super PACs has exploded.

In the same way that money affects the outcome of candidate races, it also has a profound impact on the outcomes of ballot measures that people vote on at the local and state levels.

Ballot measures can be introduced to the public for voting either by legislatures or through citizen-initiated processes. These citizen ballot initiatives are one of the purest forms of American democracy. They allow citizens to get the issues they care about placed on the ballot and voted on by the people, often in cases where politicians fail to act.

Just as with candidates; special interest groups, corporations, and wealthy individuals often invest heavily in advertising, campaign infrastructure, voter outreach, and polling to tip the scales of a ballot measure vote in their favor.