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Fortunately, you can't typically "buy" elections by donating to campaigns. Campaign spending does have an effect for unknown candidates, but once the voters kn

Fortunately, you can't typically "buy" elections by donating to campaigns. Campaign spending does have an effect for unknown candidates, but once the voters know who you are and what you stand for, further spending doesn't move the needle. It's true that the campaign with most money usually wins, but that does not the money caused the win! One way to think about it is that the most popular candidate naturally gets the most donations, just like they get the most votes. It can also be a good investment to be on good terms with the future winner.

lagniappe 7mo ago
>Fortunately, you can't typically "buy" elections by donating to campaigns. Having a Fox Mulder moment, because I too, want to believe. However, it makes me think, if it didn't work to some degree, whatever that may be, it wouldn't be common.
- bombcar 7mo ago
  Having been involved in some political campaigns and movements, I totally believe that nobody knows the ROI on where the dollars are going.
- HDThoreaun 7mo ago
  Political campaigns certainly need money, but there are heavily diminishing returns pretty quickly. In races where all the candidates have money just throwing more in doesnt seem to accomplish much.
- BurningFrog 7mo ago
  This is the mainstream view in political science/economics, since well designed studies consistently show these results. I won't spend hours chasing down such studies. If you're interested, ask an AI for references! Donating to the winner means you're on good terms with the future holder of power. This "works" in the sense that you can expect favors in return, but this is just lowkey corruption, not affecting the election result. Note that candidates who are guaranteed to win often get substantial donations!
ozgrakkurt 7mo ago
“Good investment” is looking a bit suspicious there
BurningFrog 7mo ago
This is the mainstream view in political science/economics, since well designed studies consistently show these results. I won't spend hours chasing down such studies. If you're interested, ask an AI for references!

lagniappe 7mo ago

>Fortunately, you can't typically "buy" elections by donating to campaigns. Having a Fox Mulder moment, because I too, want to believe. However, it makes me think, if it didn't work to some degree, whatever that may be, it wouldn't be common.

bombcar 7mo ago
Having been involved in some political campaigns and movements, I totally believe that nobody knows the ROI on where the dollars are going.
HDThoreaun 7mo ago
Political campaigns certainly need money, but there are heavily diminishing returns pretty quickly. In races where all the candidates have money just throwing more in doesnt seem to accomplish much.
BurningFrog 7mo ago
This is the mainstream view in political science/economics, since well designed studies consistently show these results. I won't spend hours chasing down such studies. If you're interested, ask an AI for references! Donating to the winner means you're on good terms with the future holder of power. This "works" in the sense that you can expect favors in return, but this is just lowkey corruption, not affecting the election result. Note that candidates who are guaranteed to win often get substantial donations!

ozgrakkurt 7mo ago

“Good investment” is looking a bit suspicious there

BurningFrog 7mo ago

This is the mainstream view in political science/economics, since well designed studies consistently show these results. I won't spend hours chasing down such studies. If you're interested, ask an AI for references!