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February 11, 2021
This week in money-in-politics
Most expensive ever: 2020 election cost $14.4 billion
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Political spending in the 2020 election totaled $14.4 billion, more than doubling the total cost of the record-breaking 2016 presidential election cycle.
That’s according to OpenSecrets’ analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. OpenSecrets previously estimated that the 2020 election would cost around $14 billion. The extraordinary spending figure makes the 2020 election the most expensive of all time by a large margin.
The pricey presidential showdown between Joe Biden and Donald Trump was funded by an unprecedented number of small donors giving online and billionaires who wielded tremendous political influence over the last decade. Donors also fueled record spending in congressional races, capping off the 2020 election with the all-time most expensive Georgia Senate runoffs.
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** Biden angers oil with executive actions on climate change
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President Joe Biden signed executive actions last week prioritizing solutions to the “existential threat” of climate change, drawing the ire of many key players in the politically powerful oil and gas industry. Biden’s actions pressed pause on the leasing of federal lands and waters for oil drilling, set a goal of keeping 30 percent of federal lands for conservation purposes and announced the electrification of the federal government’s fleet of vehicles.
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** Biden, teachers unions confront school reopening
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President Joe Biden has committed to reopening most of America’s K-8 schools within the first 100 days of his administration, a goal the country’s two most powerful teachers unions endorse. Some GOP lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), want Biden to move faster, ordering districts to resume in-person instruction immediately. “Science is not the obstacle. Federal money is not the obstacle. The obstacle is a lack of willpower,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.
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** Losers in expensive Senate contests still have plenty of cash
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As congressional candidates raked in record sums of campaign cash in the extraordinarily expensive 2020 election, they experienced a unique problem: too much money and not enough time to spend it. Several candidates who lost their races are sitting on millions in unspent campaign cash. The losers in the 10 most expensive 2020 Senate races still had a combined $35.3 million in the bank according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings.
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Trump’s political operation paid more than
$3.5 million to Jan. 6 organizers
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As former President Donald Trump faces a Senate impeachment trial on charges of inciting attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, unanswered questions about the full extent of his ties to a nearby rally the same day highlight the need for more campaign finance transparency.
Newly identified payments in recent Federal Election Commission filings show people involved in organizing the protests on Jan. 6 received even larger sums from Trump’s 2020 campaign than previously known.
OpenSecrets unearthed more than $3.5 million in direct payments from Trump’s 2020 campaign, along with its joint fundraising committees, to people and firms involved in the Washington, D.C. demonstration before a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.
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OpenSecrets in the News
See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:
* ** U.S. Chamber’s Thomas Donohue to Step Down in Favor of Suzanne Clark (The Wall Street Journal) ([link removed])
Thomas Donohue, longtime chief of the politically powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will step down and that Suzanne Clark will assume the role of president and chief executive officer of the organization.
* ** GOP Senators Who Backed an Extremist Interior Secretary Are Rejecting Biden’s Pick (Mother Jones) ([link removed])
Two Republican Senators, Steve Daines (Mont.) and John Barrasso (Wyo.)—both of whom have received significant funding from fossil fuel interests, are emerging as vocal opponents of President Joe Biden’s historic pick to lead the Interior Department, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.).
* ** Robinhood lobbying targets legislation that could hurt its business model (CNBC) ([link removed])
The trading start-up registered its in-house team to start lobbying on Feb. 5. Some bills Robinhood plans to lobby, such as a trading tax, could negatively impact its revenue model of profiting off of customer trades.
** The New York Times ([link removed])
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** The Associated Press ([link removed])
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** The Economist ([link removed])
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** Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])
** The Oklahoman ([link removed])
** Michigan Advance ([link removed])
** The Daily Northwestern ([link removed])
** The Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** Forbes ([link removed])
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4 star rating for 8 consecutive years
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