Candidates expected to spend $16 BILLION in 2024 election cycle

 OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks political donations and spending, has released a report highlighting how this year's election cycle will break historic spending records, with politicians and candidates expected to spend nearly $16 billion.

"Spending on the 2024 election cycle started slowly but ramped up significantly when Vice President [Kamala] Harris took over the Democratic nomination," said OpenSecrets Research and Strategy Director Sarah Bryner.  

The total cost of the 2024 federal election is expected to hit $15.9 billion, making it the most expensive in history, according to OpenSecrets.

Adjusted for inflation, this figure will fall short of the amount spent during the 2020 election, but this is largely due to reduced spending on presidential primaries this cycle – as President Joe Biden faced no serious competition in the Democratic race before being replaced by Harris in July following the catastrophic reaction to his performance in the first presidential debate with former President Donald Trump.

Former President Donald Trump also dominated the Republican Party's race, so much so that most of his competition crashed out early on.

"While it may be true that after inflation adjustments, 2024 doesn't exceed the 2020 records, we must also remember that 2020 itself smashed previous records," Bryner noted.

Political spending dominated by super PACs

So far, outside groups, including super PACs, have spent approximately $2.6 billion on the 2024 federal elections. If current trends continue, OpenSecrets projects outside spending could exceed $5 billion by Election Day.

The top 10 individual donors have contributed $599 million, accounting for just about seven percent of the total federal election fundraising. With less than a month until Election Day, spending is expected to surge further.

"There may be a saturation point where elections can no longer get more expensive, but we haven't reached it yet," remarked OpenSecrets Deputy Research Director Brendan Glavin.

The report's release comes amid a tight race between Harris and Trump and will be decided by results coming in from seven key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In these top battleground states, Trump leads Harris by 0.2 percentage points, while Harris leads the former president by two points nationally, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

Harris and the Democratic Party are projected to raise roughly $1 billion from July through September. The Harris campaign reported having $404 million cash on hand at the end of August, while Trump reported having $283 million at the end of September, federal records show.

The report also found that outside spending is favoring Republicans over Democrats, a change from the 2020 elections when left-leaning groups worked to thwart and outspend Trump's run for a second term. The GOP-aligned super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. has spent over $239 million, while Democratic-aligned super PAC Future Forward has spent over $212 million, federal records show.