By Sterling Davies | Special To The OBSERVER
As the presidential election turns the corner into the final days, both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are working towards clinching any undecided voters and drawing as many of their supporters to the polls on election day, November 5. To do this, both candidates will rely on donations and finances to fuel their campaigns, especially in the final stretch.
Entering October, Harris and her affiliated committees have raised over $1 billion since she entered the race at the end of July, becoming the fastest candidate to hit the ten-figure mark, according to a New York Times report. Before Harris stepped in for Biden, both campaigns were roughly equal in funds raised ($284.1 million raised for Biden and $217.2 million raised for Trump at the end of June, according to Forbes), but Harris has shaken up this competition, especially in recent months.
In September alone, the Harris campaign raised $221.8 million out of a total of $900 million, which tripled the $62.7 million raised by Trump’s campaign out of $371.9 million. September also saw Harris raise $47 million in the 24 hours following the presidential debate, her largest amount raised in a single day since she entered the race.
This has given Harris more opportunities to spend money on advertisements and her campaign. September saw the Harris campaign spend $269.8 million compared to Trump’s $77.6 million, and Harris is also spending $370 million to build offices and staff to reach voters in the seven battleground states and more, according to The New York Times.
David Townsend, Sacramento political campaign consultant and founder and president of Townsend Raimundo Besler & Usher, explained how most of these campaign finances are spent on television advertisements to sway voters, especially in a presidential campaign. “Most of the money in the presidential campaign goes to buy TV time and digital advertising,” Townsend said, “TV is the best way for people to get to know who you are.”
Ray McNally, a Sacramento political consultant and founder of McNally Temple Associates, noted how the increase in TV and media outlets is both a gift and a curse for political candidates. “We’ve become so fractured as a society, we’ve become siloed,” McNally said, “and it’s increasingly challenging trying to reach voters.” Before the sharp rise in media, he mentioned there were very few TV networks and news outlets, which made it easier to reach voters without using as many funds and resources. In recent years, it has become necessary to spend more money to reach different demographics through countless media outlets. While presidential candidates have the funds to do so, “some of that money would be wasted because you’d be on channels or platforms whose audiences would never support your candidate,” McNally said.
However, these various media platforms also let candidates target specific demographics and push different parts of their campaigns. McNally noted how you can now “pick off your different audiences and use different outreach or campaigns.”
With the rise of digital footprints and media recognition, Townsend noted that earned media becomes more important as well. Earned media refers to any media coverage or news that isn’t directly paid for, but is instead earned and is, in a way, free. Oftentimes, media outlets will travel with presidential candidates as a part of their campaign and as a way to push more news and media about what the candidate is supporting and vying for. “Everything is all tailored so you get free airtime and get free TV,” Townsend said.
Even though Harris has raised a significant amount of money compared to Trump, this difference might not be as critical in swaying the election as one might think. “Both campaigns will have the funds they need to get their message out and to rally their troops and to get their voters to the polls,” McNally noted. “You have to raise a minimum amount…once you get past that
threshold needed to campaign, you’ll still be able to get your message out.”
In the final days before the election , many voters are preparing to cast their vote, and while it might seem like presidential campaigns grow during this time, that growth starts months before. “We always say that what you want to do is you want to win the campaign in September and hold your lead, if you’ve got one, in October,” Townsend said. “The emphasis for most of us is to really be talking to the voters late August, September…but the September time period is really, really, hugely important.”
Even though Harris had the upper hand in money raised in September, the election isn’t secured for any candidate yet, largely because both candidates have been in the political eye for years. “For the most part, advertising isn’t as important in a presidential race, just because, typically, we have a sense that we know the candidates,” McNally said.
With Trump having been president and Harris being the current vice president, both of their beliefs and opinions on issues have been laid out for years already, making advertisements less influential in this election.
McNally explained that a sliver of undecided voters could decide who wins this election, and the best both candidates can do in the final weeks is use their funds to pinpoint this demographic. Aside from advertisements, third-party endorsers can be influential for undecided voters. These endorsers are typically celebrities, politicians, or organizations that can persuade or dissuade voters based on who they support. Elon Musk, who recently created his own PAC and is a supporter of Trump’s campaign, is now trying to incite voters to sign his petition by giving away $1 million every day to a random signee. Figures and acts like these can be influential in determining how a large portion of undecided voters, and some already decided voters, might make up or change their minds.