Who is funding US election this time?
Money plays an important role in funding the US presidential election campaign. Of late, the role of money in US elections has become a contentious issue with Democrat Bernie Sanders calling for an end to big money in politics. But funding is a necessary evil and it would become a difficult task for a candidate to carry out his or her election campaign without money being thrown in by generous donors.
In 2008, candidates spent around $5.3 billion on federal elections. Of this, the amount spent on the presidential race alone amounted to $2.4 billion. In that election, both Barack Obama and John McCain set a record as Obama spent roughly $730 million on his election campaign, while rival John McCain spent around $333 million.
So, let us take a look at a few candidates and who is funding their US Presidential campaign.
Hillary Clinton
Democrat and former First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton is all set to clinch the 2016 US presidential nomination. She has taken her campaigns quite seriously and is now reaping the benefits.
Hillary has received a large chunk of funds from bankers. A good share of her funding also comes from lawyers and law firms. They have reportedly donated a whopping $11 million. She has received around $4 million from investment and commercial banking industries.
Bernie Sanders
Critical of big money in politics, Bernie Sanders has mainly received financial support from ordinary Americans. Most of the funding that he has received is of very small amount. Reports suggest that around three quarters of the donations that he has received are below $200. He has also successfully tapped the unemployed from whom his campaign has raised $14 million. Meanwhile, the National Nurses United has also significantly contributed to Sanders’ campaign raising $2.3 million though from small donors and millionaires.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump has often had to face the ire of the social media due to his ill-fated comments and has often crossed swords with journalists. But that has not stopped funds coming his way. Trump’s campaign has raised a whopping $25 million. But, out of this amount, only $7.5 million has come from individual donors and most of them are small. The most active donors are real estate and health professionals.