Unit 3: A Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign could cost $1.7 billion?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/12/a-hillary-clinton-2016-campaign-could-cost-1-7-billion/

The encouragement from the democratic party for Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016 is growing rapidly. The group supporting Clinton's run for president, Ready for Hillary, is predicted to grow from two million to five million at the end of the year. The senior adviser for 'Ready for Hillary', Craig Smith, said that his estimation for the price of a presidential campaign in 2016 would be $1.7 billion. That amount does include spending by outside groups. In 2013, Ready for Hillary raised $4 million.

The editor of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political report, Stuart Rothenberg said, "I can see them picking a figure that is at the outer edge of their estimates because they want to set a goal that is both reachable but also a bit of a stretch. You want your fundraisers to feel like they have to work hard and you want your contributors to feel like they need to reach."

In the 2012 election, Democratic groups spent about $1.1 billion on the reelection of Obama. Rothenberg said because of the 2012 spending, "you have to assume every campaign can spend at least 1.1 billion, they know how to do it. But for most Americans, anytime we get a figure that has a B in it, people's eyes glaze over and they just start shaking their heads."

Back in 2004, the Bush campaign spent around $500 million. With the price of advertising alone increasing and the amount of advertisement options, the cost of running for office is increasing. Through advertising and getting the image of the candidate out to the public, political parties spend millions of dollars. In order to be recognized by the public, spending is completely necessary.