NYT: Billionaires Are Swaying Elections in All Corners of America

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Five presidential elections ago, before the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling that lifted many remaining campaign finance restrictions, the share of billionaire spending was almost zero — 0.3 percent, to be precise.

The billionaire families gave an average total of $10 million each in 2024, an amount roughly equal to what 100,000 typical political donors gave, combined. Money at that scale can be game-changing in tight races. TV ads, targeted digital advertising, canvassing technology to aim door-knockers at the right voters — spending money wins elections.

Many of those billionaires are not only hoping to reshape the federal government, as Elon Musk did in the early months of President Trump’s second term, but to win influence in state legislatures, City Councils, school boards and courthouses.

Ultrawealthy donors on both the left and the right have helped overhaul political leadership and policy in states across the country, expanding private charter schools, restricting abortion rights, advancing artificial intelligence in government and blocking laws that would make it harder to evict tenants. And one issue behind many of these big contributions on both sides of the aisle is taxes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/us/billionaires-federal-election-campaign-contributions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.R1A.El1E.KM-XJyA8fJb-&smid=url-share

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