Alexandria, VA – The Center for Competitive Politics (CCP), America’s largest nonprofit defending First Amendment political speech rights, released the following statement on the results of the 2016 Presidential Election, in which Donald Trump was elected despite being vastly outspent by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:
“The idea that money buys elections was disproven again last night by Donald Trump,” said CCP President David Keating. “Trump and his allies were outspent by huge margins. Money allows candidates and groups to speak. Voters decide based on their beliefs. It’s time to put aside the discredited idea that money buys votes. Instead, we should focus on expanding First Amendment freedoms for all Americans.”
Some political spending facts from CCP about last night’s election:
- Clinton outspent Trump more than 2 to 1.
- Pro-Clinton ads outnumbered pro-Trump ads 3 to 1.
- Independent groups supporting Clinton outspent independent groups supporting Trump 3 to 1.
- In the top states in terms of ads run (FL, OH, NC, PA, NV, IA), Clinton supporters ran over 3 times more ads. She lost 5 of these 6 states.
- The three biggest super PAC spenders supporting Presidential candidates (Clinton, Bush, and Rubio) spent $275 million on losing efforts – nearly 1/4 of all super PAC spending.
