The 2018 Congressional elections are well underway in New Jersey; candidates are campaigning locally, buying up Facebook advertisements, and sharing their vision of a better future with their potential constituents. This year we can observe numerous candidates running for office who exist outside of the traditional Democratic and Republican machines. New ideas, new visions for the future, and fresh faces entering the landscape to provide alternative pathways forward in a system that typically offers no real alternatives. Unfortunately, these exciting opportunities for new voices and ideas will never reach the majority of New Jerseyans because of the all too familiar vertically integrated political machines focused on generating campaign dollars for a select few candidates. Below I’ll break down just how much money is flowing into our elections and where is it being concentrated.

Visualizing the Data

As of 2/22/2018 the total amount of dollars raised for New Jersey’s 2018 Congressional Race is $21,640,868 [1]. There are 49 candidates registered as of now with the State of New Jersey for this election so if we averaged this total dollar amount per candidate we would discover that it equates to $450,851 in spending on average per candidate. Unfortunately, the disparity in funding among the candidates shows us that the average candidate has raised nowhere near that relative average; the data demonstrates that the funding is highly concentrated among a few individuals.

This chart provides a visual representation of the dollar milestones raised in relation to the number of candidates who have achieved them. The dollar amounts represent a floor, so they could read as “raised $X.XX or more” until the next milestone floor is summed. Immediately we can observe that a single candidate has raised over $5,000,000 for his race – our current Senator Bob Menendez. In his re-election campaign, Bob raised 51 times the amount of money as his closest competitor – the majority coming from for-profit firms or special interest groups. The next milestone of $1,000,000 has been achieved by only five other candidates, all running for a Congressional seat in their district. Again, we can observe that the majority of funding for each of these candidates comes from for-profit firms or special interest groups. If we include the seven candidates have achieved the $500,000 milestone of fundraising we begin to see just how deep the concentration of funding is among our political options. Using the actual dollar amounts referenced from the source above we can visualize this concentration as follows:

Visually the concentration of fundraising becomes clearer. Six candidates have raised $13,676,092 for the upcoming elections. The data shows that 12.24% of the total candidates running for office now control 63% percent of the total monies invested into New Jersey’s elections. If we add in the seven candidates who raised over $500,000 but less than $1,000,000, we can attribute an additional $4,851,623 to seven people, swaying the percentages of financial dominance to 26.53% of the candidates controlling 85.61% of the total monies.

Why it matters

The data we have available paints a clear picture of New Jersey’s political climate. Regardless of the policies, plans, and visions presented by many of our candidates the real winner in New Jersey will be the private and for-profit interests who flood our elections with money to ensure the victory of their chosen avatar. It is important to note that I don’t place blame on the candidates as persons. Instead, this is a systemic failure that permeates all of the United States. The real tragedy is that while some of New Jersey’s eventual election winners may have real insight into a better future how can we expect them to vote for a more ethical, open, and transparent election campaign process when they are so reliant on private donations for their success.

Equally as bad will be the 36 candidates whose voices will be drowned out in a war of attrition of media advertisements, paid appearances, and a fully funded staff dedicated to ensuring victory. In a political climate as high in temperature as the U.S. there are the potential innovations in political paradigms and social projects to help accelerate the U.S. towards the ever-encroaching global knowledge economy. Instead, we see more of the same. Small programmatic changes mixed with healthy support for the donors who can afford to have their voices drown out all others. Despite the possibility of visionary change, we find ourselves and our candidates having to engage with self-motivated interests who are not concerned with the greater good of the populace. This impacts you directly because you are not receiving the full extent of your options. Candidates who might align incredibly well with your values and vision for the future are pushed aside by a wave of cash and the investors who seek to gain favor from it.

While the information provided may seem depressing, there is hope in sight. I am under no illusions that the solution to this problem will be found legislatively, it is not realistic for constituents to turn against those would help them succeed in their chosen paths. Technological innovation will be the catalyst that propels politics into the hands of the people and away from the monied interests. Numerous organizations are working towards building better solutions right now within the U.S., and it’s our duty as citizens to embrace them when they do arrive. Fortunately for New Jersey I would imagine that time will come sooner than later.

[1] Center for Responsive Politics https://www.opensecrets.org/races/election?id=NJ