The Super Pac Bust
February 20 | Posted by mrossol | Big Govt, Party PoliticsWSJ 2/21/2016
Campaign fundraising may preoccupy the press corps, but it isn’t dominating the presidential race. A new analysis from the Center for Competitive Politics shows that the amount of spending by candidates and their Super Pacs was negatively correlated with results in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is illustrating that piles of Super Pac cash can’t elevate a candidate if voters aren’t persuaded by his message. Mr. Bush spent $24,332,242 through the end of 2015 with another $70,382,875 in independent expenditures by his supporters through the New Hampshire primary on February 9. His results in Iowa (sixth place) and New Hampshire (fourth) add up to $2,592 per vote.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s campaign had spent $12,440,892, with another $176,928 in independent expenditure, working out to $87 a vote. Ohio Governor John Kasich’s campaign spent $5,045,064 with another $10,226,440 from Super Pacs for $316 per vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, based on data from the Federal Election Commission and the Campaign Finance Institute. Money spent on political advertising or other messages translates into more speech and information. While lobbies like the Brennan Center that favor limits on political speech claim that “the fatter the wallet, the louder the voice,” that isn’t always true or an advantage.
Mr. Trump gets more than his share of free media coverage as a celebrity candidate who knows how to attract attention. He has tried to turn his lack of fundraising into a political virtue by claiming he’s pure because he hasn’t had to raise much independent money. The truth is that every candidate has political debts of some kind, and the only way his competitors can compete with a billionaire is by raising money from supporters.
Mr. Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders may dislike independent political donations and spending, but they can’t say that money is buying elections.
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