LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For more on all this campaign spending, let's turn to Daniel Weiner. He is the director of the elections and government program at the Brennan Center for Justice, part of NYU's Law School, where he tracks how money influences elections. Good morning, and welcome to the program.
DANIEL WEINER: Thank you for having me.
FADEL: So when it comes to money, who has the edge here? Republicans getting so much cash from megadonors, or Democrats, whose candidates are outraising their opponents?
WEINER: Well, I think the thing to understand, really, right now is that the system of limits that we had on money in politics for half a century after Watergate is basically dead. So both parties now have many, many different avenues to raise money. And what we're seeing right now is this stark difference - right? - as you noted, with Republicans getting money through super PACs while Democrats are sticking with the more traditional sort of fundraising. Both of those have advantages and disadvantages for the candidates. And we can get into that. But I think the reality is, it's a stark difference because in one case you have a couple of billionaires really bankrolling the entire operation. And the other is somewhat more broad-based. And that's really what we're looking at right now.
FADEL: How are they spending all this money? I mean, the figures we just heard from our correspondent kind of are mind-boggling.
WEINER: I mean, they are mind-boggling. I think that at this stage in the election, you are going to see a massive last-minute ad blitz, probably particularly on the Republican side, because of all that super PAC money. You are also, though, going to see a tremendous amount of resources going to get out the vote, get the voters to the polls. That is incredibly valuable in the last phases of the campaign.
Until recently, super PACs really weren't very involved with that because they couldn't work with campaigns. But there were some regulatory decisions from an agency called the Federal Election Commission that made it much easier for super PACs to work with campaigns to get out the vote. So I think you'll be seeing a lot of that super PAC money, a lot of that Musk money going to that as well.
FADEL: Have you seen the party's funding strategies change this year compared to past election cycles?
WEINER: I mean, it is the starkest disparity, where you still have Democrats primarily, not exclusively - they have their own megadonors - but primarily working through candidate campaigns. And you see to an unprecedented degree Republicans having shifted to super PACs. And that is part of what is helping the Republicans stay competitive, as you noted, because of all this super PAC money. Texas is the ultimate example of that, but it's not alone. This is, as your correspondent noted, a pattern we're seeing throughout the campaign.
FADEL: Which strategy is more effective?
WEINER: That, time will tell. I mean, it is helping keep the Republicans competitive in a very, very, very difficult midterm cycle for them. Ultimately, money does matter, but so does enthusiasm, so does the national climate. So we're just going to have to see. But without a doubt, it is keeping the election more of a nail-biter than it might otherwise be.
FADEL: You know, there's a lot of talk this election about money in politics and getting money out of politics. How do voters react to megadonors like Elon Musk being involved in this way?
WEINER: Well, I'm glad you asked that question because that I think is the real issue here. Voters are furious at this system, right? And this actually crosses party lines. Republicans are almost as angry about it as Democrats. And I think what I worry about is that it is driving a broader lack of trust in our political system. And that's ultimately what we have to reckon with here, is voters hate this system. They want it to change. And that's what we're going to see - have to see after the election is, what does whoever wins the election do with this unprecedented voter anger?
FADEL: And then the Federal Election Commission and its role right now, I mean, it doesn't have enough members to hold a vote and enforce campaign finance laws. What are the consequences if those are violated?
WEINER: I mean, there is essentially no regulation right now because the Federal Election Commission is out for the count. It's been - it's actually lacked a quorum for a record almost two years. And that has big consequences because the remaining rules, the disclosure rules, the limits, even if they're still on the books, they're not being enforced.
FADEL: Daniel Weiner is the director of the Brennan Center for Justice's elections and government program. Thank you for your time and your insights.
WEINER: Thank you so much for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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