US presidential candidates spent $2.17 bn in 2016 campaigns

The study, published on Tuesday, was conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and analysing figures compiled by the Federal Election Commission, tax authorities and other reports.

Washington, Dec 28 According to a study, White House hopefuls and groups supporting them spent a total of $2.17 billion during the election campaign that Republican Donald Trump finally won.

The study, published on Tuesday, was conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and analysing figures compiled by the Federal Election Commission, tax authorities and other reports.

It found that Trump and groups supporting him spent $409 million, a little more than half of the $759 million his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton spent, Efe reports. That means that each of the 62.979 million votes Trump secured cost him $6.50, while each of Clinton's 65.845 million votes cost her $11.50.

Despite losing the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes to Clinton, Trump won because he garnered more than the required 270 electoral votes needed to become president. Trump received 306 electoral votes, and ultimately 304 of those electors voted for him, while Clinton received 232.

According to the study, Trump spent $66.1 million of his own money to help finance his campaign. Trump had said in 2011 that one of the big advantages he had over other potential Presidential candidates was his enormous wealth, which would enable him to spend vast sums of his own cash on a White House run.

Of the other White House hopefuls in the 2016 campaign, those who spent the most were Senator Bernie Sanders, who laid out $232 million vying with Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and Senator Ted Cruz, who spent $161 million trying to obtain the GOP nomination.

IANS