How did political campaigns get so expensive?

What you'll learn

• 1 (00:06) **The Paradox of Campaign Spending** - Waylon Wong introduces the puzzle: midterm elections may be the most expensive in history, yet money doesn't reliably win elections, citing Kamala Harris outspending Trump in 2020 but losing.
• 2 (01:09) **Guest Introduction: Maria Aspen** - Waylon welcomes journalist Maria Aspen, who will host a three-week series on money in the midterms, starting with the question of what money does besides buying wins.
• 3 (02:43) **Adam Bonica on American Exceptionalism in Political Money** - Stanford political science professor Adam Bonica explains that the U.S. is unusual among democracies for how central and pervasive money is in politics, and how obsessed politicians are with fundraising.
• 4 (03:14) **Legal Roots: Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo** - The show traces the legal origins of unlimited spending, starting with the 2010 Citizens United decision, but Bonica argues the real problem began decades earlier with Buckley v. Valeo in the 1970s.
• 5 (03:56) **Trevor Potter Blames a Trio of Failures** - Trevor Potter, a Republican former head of the FEC, says the current "Wild West" results from a Supreme Court that doesn't understand elections, an FEC that doesn't enforce laws, and a deadlocked Congress that can't clarify them.
• 6 (04:56) **Obama's 2008 Decision to Reject Public Funding** - Maria explains that Obama was the first major-party candidate to reject public financing, which had previously capped spending, setting a precedent that all subsequent major candidates followed.
• 7 (05:33) **Money Doesn't Guarantee Electoral Victory** - The hosts note that Hillary Clinton outspent Trump in 2016 and lost, yet Democrats keep spending heavily against him, illustrating the persistence of the spending habit despite mixed results.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app