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The national presidential and congressional election is one of the most closely watched ever, but it's also the most expensive, with a total projected cost of $5 billion.
The United States is in the midst of a record-shattering presidential race. The latest sign is the 30-minute ad presidential candidate Barack Obama aired Wednesday night on several major networks. The prime-time infomercial cost him $4 million.
Political analysts marvel at the Obama fundraising juggernaut, which has combined traditional big-dollar donors with millions of small donors to break all previous records.
"This is probably the first candidate since the Jefferson-Adams race where money has been no issue. Obama doesn't have to make any hard decisions," said Kirk Jowers, executive director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.
This year's presidential fundraising total is expected to top $1.7 billion. That's 10 times more than three decades ago.
Likewise, a river of campaign money flows through Congress too. One sign is something not seen in Utah in recent memory: a Democratic ad, costing $60,000 on KSL-TV alone, targeting a Wyoming Republican and aimed at viewers in western Wyoming.
Another sign: U.S. House members raised $700 million total this election cycle.
A new study by nonpartisan watchdog group, MAPLight.org, finds 79 percent of that money came from outside their voters' district, most from zip codes near Washington, D.C. Utah's three districts all topped above 69 percent.
"The system we have now, we're electing the best fundraisers and not necessarily the best leaders," said Daniel Newman, executive director MAPLight.org.
We spoke with representatives from the offices of Democrat Jim Matheson and Republican Rob Bishop. Both suggested the numbers from that study may be misleading because some money raised by political action committees is raised in Utah, though the group is officially based near D.C.
Also, both say they have a healthy mix of in-state and out-of-state money.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
