$16 Billion Will Be Spent in the 2024 Election. Where’s It All Going?
The end of a historically expensive 2024 election cycle is finally in sight. Here’s how the candidates and their allies have spent their billions so far.
DOUGLAS RISSING|GETTY STOCK
Political fund raising graphic (Douglas Rissing/Getty Stock)
The 2024 election cycle will end up costing close to $16 billion, election transparency nonprofit Open Secrets has projected.
Even after adjusting for inflation, that predicted total is more than any other election cycle except for 2020. And it includes a hefty $5 billion-plus in projected purchases by super PACs and other outside groups.
The precise total is still in flux – campaigns will likely keep spending lavishly on ad buys and get-out-the-vote efforts until the polls close. But with the end of the breathtakingly tight presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump finally in sight – along with finishes for various nail-biting congressional races – here’s a look at how the candidates and their allies have spent their billions so far.
Harris’ Campaign Has Spent More Than Double Trump’s
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign committee has routinely outspent former President Donald Trump’s since Harris entered the race over the summer, data from the Federal Election Commission shows.
Her campaign has spent more than $800 million so far, not including outside spending by super PACs and other groups. That’s more than double the charges racked up by Trump’s campaign, which totaled close to $360 million.
Super PACs and Other Outside Groups Have Poured Billions Into Races
Add in outside groups, and the spending spree becomes even more dramatic.
They’ve spent over $2 billion in the presidential race alone, according to Open Secrets, including more than $845 million in efforts targeting opposing candidates.
Both Parties Have Poured Money Into Ads in Battleground States
Both the campaigns and their allies are spending most of their money on advertisements, data shows.
Democrats have outspent Republicans overall on TV advertising this election cycle, but a report by the advertising data firm AdImpact shows that pro-Trump ad buys have outpaced Harris-aligned spending in key battleground states in the three weeks leading up to Election Day.
Advertisers had booked more than $35 million in pro-Trump ads in Pennsylvania, compared with around $30 million in pro-Harris ads in the state. Pro-Trump advertisers had also outspent their pro-Harris counterparts in Wisconsin and Arizona.
Democrats Have Outspent Republicans in Many Competitive Senate Races
As in the presidential race, Democratic Senate campaign committees have tended to spend a lot more than Republicans in hotly contested races.
In Ohio, for example, Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown has outspent his opponent, Bernie Moreno, by a 4 to 1 margin. The exception to this rule is the Texas Senate race, where incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has spent almost exactly as much as his Democratic challenger, Rep. Colin Allred, to defend his seat. It remains to be seen on Election Day whether it paid off.
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