Elections in the United States are beyond pricey. For presidential and congress elections there is an estimated cost of over $5.3 Billion. This is three times the amount Canada spends on their elections. In 2004 Canadian elections cost $270 million while the United States spent $3 billion.
Elections over time have continually increased in price. The below time line shows the increase in spending for elections from 1700 to 2000.
Candidates found that the more money put into the election, the more votes resulted. In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama was voted winner and president of the United States. Not only did Obama receive the most votes, but he also spent the most money in his campaign process.
Barack Obama (D) | $532,946,511 | $513,557,218 | 69,498,215 | $7.39 |
John McCain (R) | $379,006,485 | $346,666,422 | 59,948,240 | $5.78 |
Ralph Nader (I) | $4,496,180 | $4,187,628 | 738,720 | $5.67 |
Bob Barr (L) | $1,383,681 | $1,345,202 | 523,713 | $2.57 |
Chuck Baldwin (C) | $261,673 | $234,309 | 199,437 | $1.17 |
Cynthia McKinney (G) | $240,130 | $238,968 | 161,680 | $1.48 |
Excludes spending by independent expenditure concerns. Source: Federal Election Commission[1] | ||||
Most candidates are already wealthy and have self funding for their campaigning. Carly Fiorina, a republican, spent more than $5.5 million of her own money to lead to her U.S. Senate victory. To only make $ 2.75 million in return. The price of campaigning can cost more than a year’s salary for senators.
By Nicole B, Casey A, Joe J
By Nicole B, Casey A, Joe J
