Big Bucks Don't Always Win

Obama believes Citizens United allows wealthy candidates to buy elections. But after the Whitman campaign's flame out: how much does money really matter?

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama famously (or infamously) laid into the Supreme Court’s holding in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission:

With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections, I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people. And I'd urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems.

At its most basic level, President Obama’s claim is underpinned by the idea that campaign spending affects democratic outcomes.  Setting aside the fact that President Obama is perhaps the best political fundraiser in the history of time, the em>Sacramento Bee’s recent report< on Meg Whitman’s tab for her failed gubernatorial campaign makes one wonder: how much does money matter?  According to the Bee, Whitman spent $178.5 million in order to lose to has-been liberal Jerry Brown (yes, people above the age of 50, that Jerry Brown) by 13 points.  The Bee notes that “including the money she spent winning the Republican primary against Steve Poizner, Whitman spent about $43.25 for each of her 4,127,391 votes in the general election.”

Meg Whitman was a talented candidate who spent $144 million out of pocket… and she still lost by 13? Perhaps President Obama overstated, just a little.

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