Government affairs

In 2012, winning Senate candidates spent an average of $10.3 million–a 62 percent increase since 1986, adjusted for inflation. That number only represents what the campaigns spent themselves, however.

 

That increase is dwarfed by the spending of outside independent groups, especially following the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), which allowed groups to spend an unlimited amount of money on federal elections. In fact, outside groups spent $457 million on Senate and House races in 2012 alone, compared with just $9 million in 1986. In 1978, groups spent only $303,000 to influence congressional elections.

The money poured into electoral campaigns is only expected to grow, which means political action committees (PACs) are becoming important tools to help elect members of Congress to their seats (and keep them there).