The U.S. Presidential Run Is Much More Costly Than You Might Think

At Benzinga, we’ve been looking into campaign funding and expenditures recently. Beyond all discussion, one conclusion can be drawn: The race toward the White House is not a cheap one. In a recent article, Statista’s Martin Armstrong shared a look into the cost of U.S. elections, compared to analog races in other countries around the globe.

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According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, which did the boring math, it is estimated that 2016 presidential election will cost about 2.3 billion British pounds — more than $3 billion UDS — when taking all candidates and parties into account. This already large figure becomes even more significant when compared to how much elections cost in other big democracies.

For instance, in the U.K., the 2015 general election has a total cost of 71 million pounds — almost $94 million USD. France and Germany followed suit with respective expenses of 55 and 54 million pounds — $72.75 million and $71.4 million USD, respectively.

Opposite to the United States, Japan spent only 9 million pounds (less than $12 million USD) in its 2013 general election. This means that the election only cost $0.24 per voter, compared to the United States’ $23.80 per ballot.

The chart below illustrates the cost to all parties and candidates of the most recent national elections in the United States, U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

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Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.