Some believe that money is not the deciding factor in US democracy. Campaign finance restrictions, voters’ free will and the power of media strategies can play a greater role.

Campaign finance restrictions: Political campaigns have capped funding to prevent the saturation of democracy by capital-rich individuals and organisations. The US system has laws and restrictions about lobbying by companies and how money may be used. The most significant are through Political Action Committees (PAC), which have a $5000 limit per candidate per election. 

Unbuyable Votes: Despite the influence of marketing resources, votes cannot be directly bought. The will of Americans on the ballot drives election and political outcomes. The lower 46% turnout in the 2022 mid-term elections showcased a failure of the money factor in advertising. 

The will of Americans on the ballot drives election and political outcomes

New Media Strategies: US democracy is witnessing a new trend in new media strategies to engage voters dynamically through public endorsement. While, in theory, better resources can be bought, gaining turnout among younger demographics in a tight election is something won by policy and endorsement instead. Taylor Swift’s recent endorsement of Kamala Harris ensured 405k visited the register to vote page in 24 hours.

However, immense wealth can be argued to be critically influential in winning US elections. Money plays a massive part in Super PACs and securing mutual support between donors and the candidates themselves. 

The winning party spends more: Typically, the party who spends more in an election tends to win it. This includes all the costs of extravagant rallies, commercials, staff salaries, merchandise and so on. The 2020 US general election was the most so far, with $14 billion spent - and most of it was by the winning Democratic party who spent $3.1 billion more than the Republicans. 

Super PACs: Super Political Action Committees came into existence in 2010, whereby they have no restriction on how much money they can raise to provide solidarity and support for policies for the candidate and party, although they cannot fund the candidate directly. The more support from Super PACs, the more money can be spent on the campaign. For example, in July this year, Republican megadonor Timothy Mellon donated $115 million to Make America Great Again Inc. Hence, donations such as this give confidence to parties to perform better in swing states. 

Typically, the party who spends more in an election tends to win it

Pork-Barrell Politics: This essentially entails that a politician or candidate promises a policy or project funding that may benefit donors or constituents in return for campaign funding and political support in elections. The 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act removed all constraints on pork-barrel funding and politics. A famous example was in 2018 when a $400 million project was approved to build a bridge between Ketchika and Gravina Island in Alaska to garner support for Alaskan elected officials.