Race to overtake 2008 as the most expensive ever

President Barack Obama will have competed in the two most expensive US elections in history as the polls close this week.

With both Obama and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney looking set to raise over $1bn (€774m) with their parties, the 2012 US presidential election will overtake the 2008 contest as the most expensive ever.

The total will top $2bn by the time Americans go to the polls tomorrow, with hundreds of millions more raised and spent by so-called super Political Action Committees (PACs).