Driven by spending from outside groups, the cost of the 2012 U.S. election will exceed $6 billion, $700 million more than four years ago, the Center for Responsive Politics estimated.
Organizations such as Crossroads GPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and super-political action committees including Restore Our Future and Priorities USA Action will spend close to $1 billion, according to the center, a Washington-based research group that tracks campaign donations and spending. That is more than triple the $276 million outside groups spent in 2008.
