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).

The spending by these outside groups is a wildcard that will make this week’s election the costliest yet, the Centre for Responsive Politics (CRP) said.

New rules have led to the proliferation of super PACs other outside groups that do not have to disclose their donors — adding some $750m to the election costs.

“We’re on track to break the extraordinary, record- setting sums spent in 2008,” said Sheila Krumholz, the centre’s executive director.

Super PACs and other spending groups are “raising big money and may now wield considerable power over candidates by threatening attacks without ever spending a dime”, she said.

The groups aligned with Romney have spent some $302m on advertising, more than twice the $120m spent by those aligned with Obama, documents filed with the Federal Election Commission showed.

But Obama and the Democrats broke the $1bn mark first, raising $1.06bn between the start of 2011 and Oct 17, the last day for which the campaigns must report their fundraising before the election.

Romney and the Republicans raised $954m and are expected to break the $1bn barrier once the final days of the campaigns are accounted for.

Donors who have retired have given Obama more than in 2008, along with women’s groups, retailers, hospitals, and nursing homes, CRP figures reveal.