Campaign Finance
How money flows through American elections, the landmark Supreme Court decisions that shaped the system, and the debate over whether money is speech.
The Scale of Money in American Politics
The 2020 US election cycle saw over $14 billion in total spending across federal races, more than doubling the $6.5 billion spent in 2016. The presidential race alone consumed over $5 billion. Congressional races in competitive states routinely cost $50-100 million for a single Senate seat. These figures make American elections by far the most expensive in the world, dwarfing the spending in countries that impose strict campaign finance limits.
Money flows through multiple channels. Direct contributions to candidates are capped ($3,300 per individual per election as of 2024). Contributions to political parties face higher but still limited caps. But the fastest-growing channels are outside groups, including super PACs and politically active nonprofits, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts as long as they do not coordinate directly with candidates. The line between coordination and independence is, in practice, thin.