Money In Elections

Money is an extremely vital component of US elections. In today’s modern elections, Candidates are required to spend massive amounts of money on media outlets such as television, radio and print ads to promote themselves and keep up with their competitors. In addition to these costs, other necessities like travel, equipment, office space, campaign managers, consultants, etc. are essential to the smooth operation and effectiveness of a campaign. For example, in the 2011-2012 presidential campaign cycle a total of nearly $4.5 billion was spent by all candidates (Henschen, Sidlow 208). Furthermore, The Huffington Post article agrees that, while an abundance of money and resources cannot fix a weak candidate, it does have a large influence on elections.
Moreover, investors will more than likely choose to donate to candidates that have already established a hefty amount of funds and therefore show greater promise and longevity. The article also shines a light on the fact that money is money and it does not matter if it is acquired through PACs, small dollar contributions, or well-known billionaires, as long as the amount of funds a candidate collects is competitive with their opponents. While money cannot make voters choose a candidate whom is unfit for the presidency, it can keep a candidate in the race long enough to compete. (Gaddie, Goidel).
The Huffington Post article simply summarizes that monetary accumulation in campaigns “affects not only who decides to run, it also affects their ability to compete in early primaries and their ability to stay in the