Spending on U.S. Elections Rose to Record $4.1 Billion in 2008

By Jonathan D. Salant

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The bill for the 2008 U.S. elections has been paid, and it comes out to a record $4.1 billion -- almost $20 per registered voter.

That’s 37 percent more than the $3 billion spent on the 2004 campaigns by the political parties and their candidates for the White House and Congress, the latest figures from the Federal Election Commission show. The figures don’t include the millions spent by labor unions, advocacy groups and independent political organizations on behalf of candidates.

Those barrier-breaking numbers may give ammunition to those pressing President-elect Barack Obama to overhaul the way federal races are funded.

“It’s hard to eliminate the temptations of corruption that Obama has promised to change without tackling campaign finance,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Other experts attribute the record fundraising to Americans’ enthusiasm over the prospect of electing the first black president and the increase in turnout to 130 million voters, up from 122 million four years earlier.

“The number is a reflection of the robust elections we have in the United States,” said David Primo, a political science professor at the University of Rochester in New York. “It is something to be celebrated.”

Billion-Dollar Race

The run for the White House became a billion-dollar affair for the first time as all the Democratic and Republican candidates combined reported $1.6 billion in expenditures through the end of November. That doubled what presidential hopefuls spent during the same period four years ago.

While Obama declined contributions from registered federal lobbyists and political action committees, he also became the first major-party nominee to turn down federal funds for the general election, reversing his earlier position. That allowed him to raise and spend money without limits.

He spent $741 million, more than double the previous record of $338 million by President George W. Bush in his 2004 re-election campaign.

The 2008 Republican nominee, John McCain, accepted taxpayer money for the general election and was limited to spending $84 million after receiving the nomination. He spent $307 million, including the primaries and the general election.

McCain co-sponsored 2002 legislation that sought to limit the influence of money in politics by banning corporate, union and unlimited individual donations to the political parties.

Small Donors

Two of that legislation’s other top sponsors, Democratic Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and former Republican Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, said that even though so much money was spent this year, lawmakers and the parties raised it in small amounts. That meant it “didn’t have as much influence as in the past,” Shays said.

Congressional spending rose to $1.4 billion through the end of November, up from $1.1 billion. More than half the winning House candidates -- 252 of 435 -- raised more than $1 million. Four years earlier, 199 winning candidates collected more than $1 million.

The Republican National Committee spent a record $407 million on the 2008 elections, including $53 million in independent expenditures on behalf of McCain. That surpassed the $368 million spent for the 2004 races. The Democratic National Committee spent $250 million, down from $382 million in 2003-04.

Outspending Republicans

Still, the Democratic fundraising committees for the House and Senate outspent their Republican counterparts. Overall, Republican committees spent $614 million, to $574 million for the Democrats.

The record fundraising comes as Obama campaigned against special interests and banned federally registered lobbyists from contributing to his presidential run, the transition and the inaugural committee.

If the new president is to live up to his promise to change Washington, revamping the way campaigns are funded needs to be on the list, Princeton’s Zelizer said.

“Until the nation deals with the power of private money in politics, Democrats will face the same basic environment that has been in place for several decades,” he said.

Feingold said he’s optimistic. He and Obama introduced legislation in the last Congress to create greater incentive for candidates to accept public financing, and the Wisconsin senator said he expects to have Obama’s support again.

“Even though I regretted the fact that for the first time public financing was not followed in a general election, I’ve had every indication from the president-elect, the administration, that they do support the idea of getting this job done,” Feingold said.

The following is spending by category for the 2008 elections: Presidential candidates $1.6 billion House candidates $924 million Senate candidates $436 million Political parties $1.2 billion

Source: Federal Election Commission

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: January 8, 2009 00:00 EST

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