Money Talks, Georgians Walk
The 2022 Senate election shows the obvious need for election reform when it comes to campaign donations outside the jurisdiction of the candidate's office. That is to say, people in NY and CA shouldn't decide the representative for people in Georgia.
According to OpenSecrets.org this is how it stacked up:
| Candidate | In State | Out of State |
|---|---|---|
| Raphael Warnock (D) | $13,885,505 (8.5%) | $149,556,882 (91.5%) |
| Herschel Walker (R) | $7,289,235 (36.0%) | $12,951,786 (64.0%) |
The US is a representative democracy. But do our representatives represent their voters or the funders who amplify their message to get their voters out. A quick look at the state of our union answers that question. Special interests win every time.
The analysis above is focused on performance in office, but you have to get there first. Money is required to hire staff, market your position (advertising), pay for campaign materials, travel, etc..." Big imbalances here dramatically effect your competitiveness.
| Candidate | In State | Total Raised |
|---|---|---|
| Raphael Warnock (D) | $13,885,505 (8.5%) | $163,442,387 (91.5%) |
| Herschel Walker (R) | $7,289,235 (36.0%) | $20,241,021 (64.0%) |
| Warnock +52.5% | Warnock +707.5% |
In the table above you can see that Warnock out raised Walker by 52.5% in state, but out of state, Warnock was out raised by 707%! The greatest differentiating factor in this race was the interest of people that Warnock is not supposed to represent!
In a race that Warnock won by ~1% but outspent his opponent by 700%, it's clear that if Georgians, exclusively, could donate, Georgians would be saying, "Congratulations Senator Walker!"