A page that exploring the role of money in

American politics.

 eBook Connection:  What Role Does Money Play in Our Politics?

Topics on the Page

Money and Politics

Money and Elections

2000 Presidential Election

Video Resources

Campaign Finance Court Decisions 

Money and Politics

How the 15 Richest Members of Congress Made Their Money, Business Insider (February 6, 2019)

Click here to see the top 10 wealthiest US Presidents of all time, and how they made their money.

Money and Elections

Statistical Summary of the 18-Month Campaign Activity of the 2021-2022 Election Cycle

How Money Affects Elections, FiveThirtyEight (September 10, 2018) 

• Money is not the deciding factor in winning, but winning does attract money from donors.
  

• Advertising—even negative advertising—is not very effective

• Money does determine who can run for office; those who run are more likely to be independently wealthy

Click here for a detailed timeline of the influence of money in American politics over time.

Click here to visit OpenSecrets.org, an organization that provides clear and unbiased information about money's role in politics and policy.. They aim to inform and engage Americans and expose disproportionate or undue influence on public policy.

• Click here to explore the distribution of money in the Presidential 2016 elections.

• Look at graphs to see which presidential candidates use outside money or candidate committee money on their campaign.

• Click here to view lobbyist spending over the course of over 15 years. Browse the tabs to view top spenders and ranked sectors. 

• Go here for money raised by SuperPACs

• 2016 Top Donors to Outside Spending Groups to liberals and conservatives

Trump Inaugural Committee (2017)

More than 25 Billionaires Poured Millions into Trump's Inaugural Committee, Forbes (April 19, 2017)

Report of Donations Accepted, 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee

2020 Presidential election

Most expensive ever: 2020 election cost $14.4 billion Open Secrets (February 2021)

Presidential election campaign finance, 2020 Ballot Pedia, Summary by FEC

Will donors of color invest in white presidential candidates? The Conversation (March 2020) 

Political Cartoon (1891)

 Videos about money in politics

How Does Money Corrupt Our Government?

Corruption is Legal in America

How a Bill(ionaire) Becomes a Law(maker)

Money in Politics: What's the Problem

Infographic video on Wealth Inequality from the top 1% to the rest of America

Click here for a video on "How Does Money Affect The U.S. Elections?"

Click here for a video on "The dark money in U.S. politics, campaign money"

Click here for a video about "How to Spend Money on Politics like a Billionaire"

Dark money: Market Place article, video, NYT election recap of 2020 article

Citizens United: Video, Book, 

Koch Brothers: Video

Money and Politics in the News

Click here to browse a continuously updating list of news articles relating to money in politics from the Huffington Post.


Here are the Top Super PAC Mega-Donors from the 2014 elections


Ben and Jerry's founders were arrested on April 19, 2016 at a rally against big money in politics, which took place in Washington DC.

 Campaign Financing Court Decisions

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 2010

• The court ruled that corporations, unions and other special interests have a constitutional right to spend as much as they like to advocate the election or defeat of political candidates.
•  Since that decision, independent spending on political campaigns has skyrocketed.

Click here for a video explanation of the Citizens United court case.

Facts of the Case and Votes of the Justices

McCutcheon v. FEC, 2014

Click here for a summary of this case.

The court ruled that the law cannot restrict the number of candidates to whom a donor can contribute.

• With the overall contribution limits eliminated, an individual donor who elects to give the maximum to every presidential, House and Senate candidate could spend up to $3.6 million per election cycle. And all of that money could be solicited by a single candidate, who would have a powerful incentive to follow the donor's wishes.

How can we end the corruption caused by money in politics?

Video example of the first anti-corruption act passed in Tallahassee, Florida.

TED talk Lawrence Lessig
"There is a corruption at the heart of American politics, caused by the dependence of Congressional candidates on funding from the tiniest percentage of citizens"