Start your engines
Yesterday, Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, announced her candidacy for president. The first confirmed challenger to Trump — who launched his own bid to return to the White House in November 2022 — Haley’s announcement comes nearly 21 months, or some 630 days, before the 2024 election date.
Putting political ideology aside, Haley’s early announcement is indicative of just how much goes into running a modern campaign to get the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Fundraising, canvassing, organizing volunteers, polling the public, producing media assets, filming commercials, running social media accounts and — of course — deciding on your flagship policies are time-consuming… but most of all they are expensive.
Indeed, data from OpenSecrets reveals that the most recent presidential election was the most expensive election cycle in history, with political spending in 2020 totalling some $14.4bn, or more than $16bn once adjusted for inflation.
The average winner in the House spent $2.35m, while in the Senate it took a whopping ~$27m to emerge victorious and history suggests that 2024 election spending is likely to reach new highs again.
