Transcribed

High Cost of Election Means the Season of Giving Has Come Early

* CHRISTMAS IN SUMMER * The presidential candidates are unwrapping the biggest campaign gifts in history. 2012 ELECTION TO: OBAMA TO: ROMNEY $368 Total Raised $195 MONEY RAISED MILLION THROUGH JULY 2012 MILLION Monthly Advantage $ 25 M GIFTS OF $200 OR MORE OBAMA ROMNEY $0 2011 2012 Average Gift $53 $129 Small Money 58% % OF MONEY FROM GIFTS UNDER $200 23% 2% Big Donors 8% % GIVING OVER $200 Number of Donors 6.9 (ESTIMATED) 1.5 MILLION MILLION Sources: Federal Election Commission, Open Secrets, Huffington Post, Christian Post Data through July, 2012 united re:public UNITEDREPUBLIC.ORG

High Cost of Election Means the Season of Giving Has Come Early

shared by JLMC on Aug 29

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This season, the high cost of the election means Obama and Romney are getting early Christmas gifts: wads of cash from their loyal donors. Obama socked away $241 million as of May, while Romney had $9... 8 million. Whoever wins, the cost of this election will be the highest in U.S. history. Where does all that money come from? It depends on the candidate. Romney’s donors tend to give twice as much as Obama’s ($136 versus $56, on average) and more of his donors give big gifts of $200 or more. That means Obama relied heavily on smaller donations, and Romney gets most of his from big gifts. So how does Obama still have more money in the bank? A lot more donors: we estimate about six times more than Romney, or 4.3 million. No matter how they do it, politicians manage to raise the cost of election every season; and so raise the influence of their donors. Even as they compete with each other, both Obama and Romney are making money the number one issue.