I have covered a number of candidates over the years who spent millions of dollars of their own fortune while running for office. Only one of those candidates — Wallace Wilkinson, who was elected Governor of Kentucky, — won.
Mostly, the candidates who finance their own races don’t win, according to new findings from The National Institute on Money in State Politics:
The institute found:
- “Candidate self-financing is big business: candidates spent $925 million trying to get elected, or 12 percent of all money given at the state level from all sources.
- “Incumbents and top fundraisers win less often when the candidate provides a significant portion of his or her own funds.
- “Self-funded candidates run in all statewide races, but seek the governor’s office more often than any other. “
Here are some more details:
You would think that wealthy and influential candidates would be attractive to voters because they don’t need contributions to run for office. The candidates may hope they appear to be too rich to need contributions and the influence that contributors seem to wield over people in office.
But various candidates who self-financed their campaigns have told me over the years that they thought they lost because they didn’t ask for contributions. In effect, strangely, it could be that unless you allow/ask people to give to your campaign, you won’t have their support.
