Source: American Majority

Money, Money Everywhere: Democratic Primary Spending

By: Sarah Wilson, Kyle Goodier, Lottie Smith, and Kinley DuRant

What to know:

This data was pulled on February 12th and will change as the campaigning progresses in the coming months. Campaigning for the primary elections is no cheap task. The primaries refer to the process of each state voting on the candidate that they want to represent them in the general election. The Democratic Primaries are underway and as they progress so does the price tag.  Last year, Trump and the top four Democrats spent more on digital advertising than on television advertising. Based on data gathered from the Social Media Listening Center, we are able to see just how much goes into this election process this year, already.

Here are some of the basics:

• A total of $29,995,000 in Facebook spending for the Early nominating States
  • Iowa, New Hampshire,  Nevada and South Carolina
• The top Candidates:
  • Pete Buttigieg is in the lead and has spent $62.3 million on campaign
    • Committee Name: Pete For America Exploratory Committee, Inc.
    • His total amount fundraised was $61 Million and he has gone through $52 Million of it, putting the rate at which he has burned at 85%
    • Over 1,200 people gave Buttigieg’s campaign at least $2,800 in the quarter, the maximum amount a candidate can receive in the primary. Some donors contributed more than that, which Buttigieg will not be able to spend unless he reaches the general election. Big donors include Arne Sorenson, the CEO of Marriott, and former Palm Springs, Calif., Mayor Robert Moon.
  • Bernie Sanders is in second and has spent $90.7 Million
    • Committee Name: Bernie 2020
    • His total amount fundraised was $109 Million and he has gone through $90.7 Million of it, putting the rate at which he has burned his fund raised money at 83%
    • Sanders paid over $8.5 million in salary in the last three months of the year to over 900 staffers, accounting for about 17 percent of his total spending
  • Elizabeth Warren has spent $68.3 Million
    • Committee Name: Warren For President, Inc.
    • Her total amount fundraised was $82 Million and she has gone through $68.3 Million of it, putting the rate at which she has burned her fund raised money at 83%, also.
    • Getting on the ballot in states across the country isn’t cheap. Warren’s campaign spent over $64,000 to get on ballot-access expenses in 23 different states or territories. South Carolina, the fourth state on the calendar, was easily the most expensive at $20,000.
  • Amy Klobuchar has invested $24.0 Million
    • Committee Name: Amy for America
    • Her total amount fundraised was $29 Million and she has gone through $24 Million of it, putting the rate at which she has burned her fund raised money at 83%
    • The Minnesota senator had about 180 staffers on her payroll at the end of the year, which makes her campaign significantly smaller than the poll-leading campaigns she hopes to compete against in Iowa
  • Joe Biden at $52.1 Million
    • Committee Name: Biden for President
  • • His total amount fundraised was $61 Million and he has gone through $52 Million of it, putting the rate at which he has burned his fund raised money at 85%
    • One of Biden’s biggest expenses, outside of paying his staff, is digital advertising. His campaign spent about $2.4 million on digital advertising to vendors including Facebook, Infogroup and Hulu.
  • Michael Bloomberg with $188Million
    • Committee Name: Mike Bloomberg 2020, INC.
    • His total amount fundraised was $200 Million and he has gone through $188 Million of it, putting the rate at which he has burned his fund raised money at 94%
    • Bloomberg is paying his top staffers big bucks. Annualized salaries for his campaign chair and manager could reach as high as $375,000.
  •  Tom Steyer with $201Million
    • Committee Name: Tom Steyer 2020
    • His total amount fundraised was $206 Million and he has gone through $201 Million of it, putting the rate at which he has burned his fund raised money at 97%
    • The billionaire spent over $101 million on ads, with most of that money going through Buying Time, a D.C.-based media buyer. Steyer also spent over $101,000 to advertise in five prominent black publications in South Carolina.
  •  Tulsi Gabbard with a total of $9.9 Million
    • Committee Name: Tulsi Now
    • Her total amount fundraised was $12.6 Million and she has gone through $9.9 Million of it, putting the rate at which she has burned her fund raised money at 78%
    • The Hawaii congresswoman had just 13 staffers on her payroll — which excludes people paid through firms or as a consultant. That’s likely the smallest level among the remaining candidates

In the graph below we are able to see the percent of this money that the candidates have spent on Facebook campaigning alone in their first four states: South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Iowa. 

There are still another five months of campaigning that will be done before this election comes to a close.  The spending numbers are continuing to fluctuate.  At this rate the numbers could continue to soar far beyond where they are now.

Sources for Data:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-presidential-candidates.html