If you are interested in taking up a career in politics, a good place to start might be to take part in a campaign. Here, you’ll find the true meaning of civic participation, despite the long days, stress, and pressure. Campaigns are made up of three things: time, people, and most importantly, money.
Candidates are nothing without a good lawyer and a strong finance chairperson. These people not only advise the candidate during their campaign, but they also are in charge of all fundraising, campaign spending, and campaign laws. Candidates constantly need money in order to continue on the campaign trail and get their names on the ballots. In order to get this money, they need to get donations from their supporters. These donations can come from individuals or groups of individuals. However, these groups and individuals can only provide each candidate a certain amount of money and they are forbidden by law not to give them anymore money after a certain amount.
Candidates are also given the option to accept a certain amount of tax payer’s money to run their campaigns. The federal government sets aside a budget for each candidate and the candidate can choose whether or not they want to use that money. With that said, as soon as a candidate dips into their fund from the government, they are limited how much money they can receive from other sources. For this reason, candidates don’t want to dip into their government fund, they would rather get as much money as they can from their donors.
One of the reasons why so many people claim they support Donald Trump is because he stated over and over again that he isn’t being bought by anyone; that he isn’t being controlled or influenced because he is using his own money for his campaign. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders is also making a stance on his campaign financing, saying that he is funded only by the people and not big political groups that may create influence him like other candidates have done.
One of the biggest debates during the campaign season is whether or not campaigns need to be regulated in order for every candidate to have a fair chance of winning the seat that they are running for. Some Americans believe that yes, regulations need to be put in place because without them, only the elite are able to run for office, leaving others behind because they can’t afford it. Others believe that it is the right of the candidate to use their money however they want because, well, it’s their money. However, just like almost everything else in the political world, nobody knows what the answer to this conflict. The most important takeaway from this week’s article is that money is a HUGE aspect in these campaigns and without them, candidates wouldn’t be able to do anything. Next week, we’ll be discussing the people and groups behind these dollar signs and just how much power they have. Stay tuned.
