The US elections are the most expensive in history despite the pandemic

A woman deposits her ballot in a mailbox in Los Angeles.FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP

The United States breaks records in spending in these elections despite the economic crisis caused by the advance of the coronavirus.

Until now, the electoral process is the most expensive in the history of the country with 11,000 million dollars used, mainly, in campaign events and advertisements, 40% more than what was spent in the 2016 elections, according to preliminary data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

This figure includes presidential campaigns (about $ 5.2 billion), as well as legislative campaigns in some states.

The data shows that Democrats have raised more funds for their candidates than Republicans.

Joe Biden leads in money raised by his campaign team, while Trump has been stalling since July.

According to the Federal Elections Commission, the Democrat has raised $ 937 million directly from individuals (excluding other contributions, such as interest groups and businessmen), while Trump has managed to add $ 595 million.

The source of these resources outlines the electoral bases of each candidate.

The surge in funding for Biden's campaign shows a particular landscape in which small action groups have been supporting him since he was elected as the Democratic Party candidate for president.

The key moments to increase his resources, according to a follow-up by

, have been the announcement that Senator Kamala Harris would be his partner as a candidate for vice presidency - that day he raised $ 12.7 million;

the day of the closing of the Democratic National Convention in August, when actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus asked the audience to “cooperate” for the campaign, with 13.6 million;

and in September the day after the death of Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, when the campaign made $ 71 million in the next 24 hours.

The steady growth in fundraising for Biden is explained, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, by the support of people who donate more than $ 200 to his campaign.

However, the Democrat has also had the support of millionaires: the most representative case has been that of New Yorker Michael Bloomberg who opened the checkbook in September and gave $ 100 million to Democrats to spend on advertisements in Florida, one of the key states in the elections on November 3.

Other groups that have reached out to Biden have been women and members of the Political Action Committees (PACs), independent entities that with donor money advance their agendas and support politicians loyal to their causes.

Trump, on the other hand, has barely maintained a sustained pace in his fundraising: since August it has been declining.

His fundraising team was known in 2016 as the Death Star - referring to the ship in the Star Wars franchise - and he spent so much money that the Republican Party sent a warning to the mogul's campaign.

Trump, now alarmed by the growth in donations for his opponent, assured last week in Arizona that he could match him.

“I'd raise a trillion dollars in a day if I wanted to.

But I don't want to do that, ”he said.

The president suggested that he may have the backing of the big Wall Street firms.

"When I call the boss at Exxon and say, 'You know what, I'd love for you to send me $ 25 million for the campaign.'

And he'll say, 'Absolutely, sir,' he added.

According to

, large companies have remained on the sidelines in their contributions to the campaigns, fearing that a victory of the Democrats in Congress will complicate the advance of legislative initiatives that affect them.

Trump, too, has lost the financial push from college-educated Republicans.

The origin of the money that the candidates receive is also divided geographically: Biden obtains more resources in the states of the east and west coasts, while Trump obtains funds from the states of the center of the country.

Both campaigns have changed the way they spend these obligated resources, in part, due to the advance of the coronavirus pandemic and have lowered their travel bills to increase spending on media ads and online strategies.

The revenue and spending are unprecedented in US electoral history.In 2016, Hillary Clinton spent more than Trump: $ 565 million versus $ 322 million.

The money did not guarantee the Democrat the presidency.

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about the elections in the United States