Campaign finance has profoundly changed since Citizens United. The overall story is one of growing inequality. But the patterns differ by party—and do so in ways that help explain the GOP's oligarchical tendencies. These charts break down the evolving landscape and provide some context. 🧵 - ThreadSky

adambonica.bsky.social • 15 days ago

Campaign finance has profoundly changed since Citizens United. The overall story is one of growing inequality. But the patterns differ by party—and do so in ways that help explain the GOP's oligarchical tendencies.

These charts break down the evolving landscape and provide some context. 🧵

Comments

jalapena.bsky.social•15 days ago

📌

quixoticmage.bsky.social•14 days ago

Whenever I make a mistake I comfort myself by thinking back to the professor of my first public policy class who said, shortly after citizens united, that the money in politics already wasn't hitting its caps and was unlikely to change much post- decision. What an absolute moron he was

kiragooddog.bsky.social•15 days ago

Does this include party-aligned PAC’s and other funding vehicles?

jocelynl.bsky.social•15 days ago

Thanks for posting all this. I needed to update my corporate political activity lecture, and you just saved me so much time!

isaacspeer.bsky.social•3 days ago

Thanks for sharing these charts! I'm curious if the dataset includes donations from corporations to political action committees, or if it only includes donations from individuals.

adambonica.bsky.social•15 days ago

The GOP’s reliance on mega-donors has ballooned. In 2008, mega-donors (giving over $1m) represented just 4% of GOP fundraising. By 2024, that figure had surged to 56%. When adding in donors giving between $100k and $1m the number grows to 67%.

dmwoodruff.bsky.social•11 days ago

📌

adambonica.bsky.social•15 days ago

While mega-donor funding has also risen for Dems since 2008, it's remained much less vital to their overall fundraising.

Dems' mega-donor share peaked at 32% in 2020 (~25% excluding billionaire self-funders Bloomberg and Steyer) and has since reverted to 2014 levels - a divergent path.

adambonica.bsky.social•15 days ago

What’s interesting is that Dems have largely kept pace in the big money race. On the mega-donor side, contributions to both parties from the biggest donors (>$1M) have increased.

So why have Republicans become so much more reliant on big money?

adambonica.bsky.social•15 days ago

Since 2008, GOP fundraising from sub-$100k donors has been stagnant, while Democrats more than doubled theirs, widening their base and the GOP focused on a smaller set super-rich donors.

adambonica.bsky.social•15 days ago

Looking at total fundraising reveals a divergence. Mega-donor fundraising grew in total amounts for both parties. However, Democrats saw significant growth in the sub-$100k bracket, unlike Republicans. This growth is crucial to their advantage.

adambonica.bsky.social•15 days ago

A key factor in the Democratic fundraising advantage: economic realignment. Professionals, particularly in metropolitan areas, have increasingly favored Democrats.

Generational trends also play a major role. Around 80% of Millennial and Gen Z donors have supported Dems between 2020-2024.

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