How Much Money Does It Take to Win an Election? (Infographic) When it comes to getting elected, currency counts as much as policy.
By Carly Okyle
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Politicians will do whatever they can to earn your vote. They'll kiss babies, take meetings, debate and hit the late night talk shows. They'll also spend a lot of money, as the infographic created by NowSourcing for online advertising company El Toro shows.
The amount of money presidential candidates spend while running for president has risen from $528 million in 1980 to $1.7 billion in 2012. Unsurprisingly, more of that money goes to television and digital ads over ads in newspapers or on the radio.
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While candidates spent just over $22 million on digital ads in 2000, in the last election cycle, that number grew to more than $150 million. The projections for digital promotions this year are exponentially higher, at $1 billion.
Check out the infographic below to see in which state the most money is spent on political ads and how those sums break down between local and national elections.