The Mega Money tsunami of Campaign 2020 is going into the record books as the most expensive election in American history. That includes $750 million in dark money from mystery donors to candidates through conduits that hide who owns whom when the next Congress goes into session.
The overall price tag for the 2020 election has already hit $14 billion, roughly twice what was spent in 2016. And the numbers will climb higher with another $250 million pouring into those Senate runoff races in Georgia and final funding reports yet to be filed.
For Joe Biden, big money was decisive. He outraised Trump by half a billion dollars, becoming the first billion-dollar presidential candidate in US history. And while Trump was out barnstorming, the money edge helped Biden to crucial wins in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
But the money edge did not pay off for Democratic candidates fighting for Republican-held Senate seats in Iowa, Maine, North and South Carolina. What went wrong? For one thing, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and his Super-PAC came riding to the rescue of vulnerable Republicans. In the homestretch, Mitch poured $239 million into tight Senate races, and he's doing again in Georgia.

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