The dubious ethics of big money in politics and its sidelining of the average American in the process is an issue that’s only been exacerbated by the rising cost of federal elections. The more money that’s allowed into the federal election system, the more an entire industry grows up around it to launder the funds appropriately, and the worse off our democracy is.
According to date from the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org), from 2000 to 2016, the total spending on Congressional races, both by candidates and through independent expenditures, increased from $2.3 billion (adjusted for inflation) to $4.1 billion, with the highest total spending on a House race reaching $26.7 million, $176.9 million for a Senate race. A clear jump of over $1 billion can be observed following 2010, the year of the SCOTUS decision Citizens United v. FEC.
As implied by this, the increase in spending can be almost entirely attributed to increased spending by outside groups like super PACs and political nonprofits. Looking at all federal elections, Presidential and Congressional, the percentage of outside spending, which is made up of independent expenditures, electioneering communications, and the associated costs, has increased from 1.1% in 2000 to 21.7% in 2016.
When you zoom in on the top ten most expensive races in both the House and Senate, outside groups have quickly taken the lion’s share of spending, shooting up from just 6% in 2000 to an outrageous 62% in 2016. With candidate spending remaining largely constant, these funds have drastically increased overall spending on these races over that period, by about $800 million.
OpenSecrets.org points out that rising election costs are particularly evident in the Senate, where the average total spending by and on a winning candidate was $19.4 million in 2016, compared to $16.8 million in 2014 and $14.6 million in 2012. These increases can be attributed entirely to the increasing percentage of money spent by outside groups like super PACs and political nonprofits, their shares increasing from 22% in 2012, to 37% in 2014, to a whopping 47% in 2016, with candidate spending trending slightly downward during this time.
And while state seats are not so contested as to draw in millions, much less billions, of dollars, the rising cost of elections is starting to trickle down to state level elections. The special election for Delaware’s 10th State Senate District in 2017, which was hotly contested due to the potential for Democrats to lose control of the Senate, drew in direct contributions totaling $677,797 according to the National Institute on Money in Politics (FollowTheMoney.org).
Additionally, while independent expenditures for Delaware are not tracked by the Institute, at least $570,000 was spent by the super PAC First State Strong on the winning candidate, with $225,000 of their funds coming from Growing Economic Opportunities, a New Jersey-based PAC, according to OpenSecrets.org. This amount alone is more than the most expensive race for Delaware State Senate in 2016, $222,588 for District 7, compared to an average of $84,494 for the other Senate races that same year, according to FollowTheMoney.org. Appropriately, there was much outcry over the amount of outside money pouring into the state for the race.
It’s clear that Delaware needs to move quickly to prevent the rising tide of political money from inundating the state and buying out our local politicians as well as our federal ones, especially when dollars are coming from people or entities who don’t live or work in the state. Strong measures need to be taken to save our democracy before it’s too late.