This week, US Vice President Kamala Harris raised a record $US81 million ($AU122 million) in political donations in one day, a record for American election campaigns.
Harris is the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election against Trump on 5 November.
Election candidates in the U.S. rely heavily on political donations to pay for their campaign costs. Why?
Donations
Parties and candidates seek donations to sustain their campaigns in the lead up to an election.
These financial contributions are spent on things like ads on social media, TV, and radio. Donations can also go towards staff, hiring venues for campaign rallies, and travel costs.
U.S. campaign funds are often spent on initiatives to encourage more voter participation. This is because voting in U.S. elections is optional, unlike in Australia.
Costs
Political donations ahead of the U.S. 2020 election totalled $14.4 billion (AU$21.7 billion), according to independent political finance research group OpenSecrets. That’s equivalent to the total GDP of The Bahamas.
Meanwhile, Australia’s biggest political parties spent nearly $AU420 million worth of donations at the last federal election.
Political donations to Kamala Harris (previously Joe Biden) and Donald Trump between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2024.
Source: U.S. Federal Election Commission
Campaigning
U.S. presidential elections are held every four years. The major parties – Republican and Democrat – follow a long process to determine a presidential candidate, including ‘primary’ elections.
There are no laws limiting when candidates can begin campaigning.
For example, Trump announced his intention to run for the Republican candidacy on 16 November 2022. His campaign will have lasted nearly two years by the time polling day arrives on 5 November.
Meanwhile, Australian federal elections typically happen once every three years.
Campaigning usually lasts for around a month. In 2022, candidates/parties had a six week campaign window. An election must be held within 68 days of Parliament dissolving.
Shorter campaign cycles mean political parties don’t need to spend as much as American politicians.
There are no limits on how much a person or entity can donate to a political campaign. However, some donations must be publicly disclosed. For the 2023/24 financial year, this includes all donations above $16,300.
It’s estimated the source of around one-third of Australian political donations are unknown.
In the U.S, donations above $200 are made public.
However, individuals are capped at giving a maximum $3,300 donation to a presidential candidate during a general election.
Due to this cap, many U.S. donors give money to “political action committees” (PACs).
PACs
PACs are organisations that pool together donations from members and direct these funds towards political campaigns. They are often run by businesses and unions.
There are strict rules banning individual candidates from attempting to influence a PAC.
Make America Great Again, a PAC named after Trump’s campaign slogan, has raised more than $201 million.
Planned Parenthood, a reproductive healthcare group, has a PAC that has tallied up $9.3 million so far.
