London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

2020 US Election Expected To Cost $14 Billion, Most Expensive In History

2020 US Election Expected To Cost $14 Billion, Most Expensive In History

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will be the first candidate in history to raise USD 1 billion from donors.
The 2020 Presidential election is turning out to be the most expensive election in history and twice as expensive as the previous presidential election cycle, with the total cost of the election expected to reach an unprecedented USD 14 billion, a research group said.

The Center for Responsive Politics said that an "extraordinary influx" of political donations in the final months - driven by a Supreme Court battle and closely watched races for the White House and Senate - pushed total spending in the election past the previously estimated 11 billion dollars figure.

The Center said that the 2020 election will cost USD 14 billion, shattering spending records.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will be the first candidate in history to raise USD 1 billion from donors.

His campaign brought in a record-breaking USD 938 million through October 14, riding Democrats' enthusiasm to defeat Trump. President Donald Trump raised USD 596 million, which would be a strong fundraising effort if not for Biden's immense haul.

"Even amid a pandemic, everyone is giving more in 2020, from ordinary individuals making small donations to billionaires cutting eight-figure checks to super PACs."

"Women are smashing donation records, and Americans are increasingly donating to candidates who aren't running for office in their state," it said in a statement.

The 2020 election is more than twice as expensive as the runner up, the 2016 election.

This year's election will see more spending than the previous two presidential election cycles combined, said the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research group that tracks money in US politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

"Donors poured record amounts of money into the 2018 midterms, and 2020 appears to be a continuation of that trend - but magnified," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.

"Ten years ago, a billion-dollar presidential candidate would have been difficult to imagine. This cycle, we're likely to see two," Krumholz said.

The group said that the massive numbers are headlined by unprecedented spending in the presidential contest, which is expected to see USD 6.6 billion in total spending alone, up from around USD 2.4 billion in the 2016 race.

Spending by deep-pocketed national groups is also driving the total cost of election higher. In the month of October alone, outside spending by super PACs and other big-money groups totalled nearly USD 1.2 billion.

These groups are spending far more to boost Biden than help Trump, further aiding the Democrats cash-flush campaign.

Driven by their supporters' strong opposition to Trump, Democrats are continuing their fundraising prowess that helped them dominate the money race in the 2018 election cycle.

"Their money machine is more powerful than ever in 2020," the Center said.

Democratic candidates and groups have spent USD 5.5 billion compared to Republicans' USD 3.8 billion, the Center said noting that Democrats have never had a financial advantage this large.

Both parties raised more than ever from small donors, but Democrats came out on top, having raised nearly USD 1.7 billion from bite-sized donors, compared to USD 1 billion for Republicans.

Overall, small donors account for 22 per cent of the money raised in the 2020 cycle. These individual donors giving USD 200 or less only accounted for 15 per cent of money raised in the 2016 election.

The pandemic also forced candidates to forgo in-person fundraisers with wealthy donors. Campaigns have increasingly relied on virtual fundraising using texts and emails, a strategy that works better when Americans are more engaged in politics, it said.

Political groups have spent over USD 1 billion this year to advertise on platforms like Facebook and Google, according to OpenSecrets' online ads database.

Democrats are also raising more in large part because women are giving more.

More than 1.5 million women have donated to federal committees, accounting for 44 per cent of all donors, up from 37 per cent in 2016.

In the 2020 election, women have given USD 2.5 billion through mid-October, up from USD 1.3 billion throughout the entire 2016 election.

According to the Center's research, women are more likely to be Democratic donors.

In the 2020 election, women giving over USD 200 have donated nearly USD 1.3 billion to Democrats and roughly USD 570 million to Republicans.

Several industries have flipped over to Democrats'' side under Trump's presidency, including the well-funded miscellaneous finance and securities and investment industries.

Real estate is one of the few major industries to stay in Republicans' corner during the Trump era, giving slightly more to GOP committees than Democrats, it said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×