Presidential Campaign Financing and Spending

Running Head: Presidential Campaign Financing

Presidential Campaign Financing and Spending

Michael P. Caldwell

Herzing College

Abstract

President Bush won reelection against Sen. John Kerry in a presidential race that shattered previous fundraising and spending records to become the most expensive in U.S. History. Both candidates benefited from the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which went into affect just before the 2004 election cycle began and doubled the individual contribution limit from $1,000 to 2,000 dollars. Anyone trying to run for President of the United States must raise enormous amounts of money to keep there campaigns going. President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, for example, raised a total of nearly half a billion dollars in private contributions during the presidential primary season. More efforts are going to have to be made to keep the spending of non-party affiliated groups, such as the 527 groups, to a minimum.

Presidential Campaign Financing and Spending:

Election 2004

President George W. Bush took in a record $360 million for his 2004 re-election campaign, easily exceeding the $192 million he raised in his 2000 campaign. President bush spent $306 million of the money he raised which was also another record. John Kerry not only finished behind him in the election he also finished behind him in campaign funds, but still posted totals that far exceeded any other election period. Kerry raised more then $317 million and spent more then $240 million. Both partied during the campaign declined public matching funds, which would have not let them use all of the fund that they had raised, and would have limited there spending. Once they accept there partied nomination however they must accept the Public funding. For the 2004 election cycle the public matching funds they received were $74.6 million dollars. (Democracy 21.org, 2004;unknown author,2004)

McCain-Feingold