Town of Palm Beach Campaign Contributions

As Election Day draws closer, the whole nation is becoming more politically aware in an effort to ensure their vote will be cast for the candidate who best embodies their views on how the United States should be governed.

Through this journey of political enlightenment, many have already found the candidate whom they’ll endorse in their effort to win, not only their respective party’s nomination, but also the Presidency of the United States of America.

The same is true for the residents of the Town of Palm Beach, with many locals rushing to support their favored candidate in the best way they know how, by writing them a check. 

The road to becoming the president of the United States is long and arduous, but most of all it is expensive. Campaigning requires constant travel, prime time advertisement, as well as a great deal of paid professionals to keep things running smoothly, so it is no surprise that many candidates rely heavily on the financial backing of their supporters to keep their show in the road.

Palm Beachers are aware of this and have collectively donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to presidential candidates during the 2016 election cycle. 

This brings us to two questions. First, how are the donations of Town residents divided amongst candidates (who’s getting the most/least contribution from locals)? And secondly, but perhaps more importantly, is the amount of money contributed towards a presidential candidate an accurate representation of that area’s support for the candidate in question? Let’s have a look the Town of Palm Beach campaign contributions.

Town of Palm Beach Campaign Contributions

The answer to the first question is easily obtainable. According to the FEC, Hillary Clinton has received the most financial support with 117 locals donating over $269,000 to her campaign. Bernie Sanders comes in last place with the least amount of money donated from 10 Palm Beach residents adding up to $5,612.50. A resident of Palm Beach himself, Donald Trump is right above Sanders at $7,450, donated from 7 other residents, though he is mainly a self-funded candidate. Ted Cruz comes in second to Hillary with 48 locals contributing a little over $139,000. That leaves John Kasich, who is just below Cruz at $111,350 from 53 Palm Beachers.

So what do these numbers mean; is the candidate who earns the highest amount of donations the most popular in that area?

An associate professor of political science at FAU, Kevin Wagner says “Donations can reflect the popularity of a candidate, but often do not. A large number of small donations suggests wider support than a small number of large donations. Out raising your opponent is a sign of strength, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect broad support or enthusiasm.”

Though donating to a candidate’s campaign is an honorable way to back them, the best thing that one can do is to support their candidate at the polls. Every vote counts, so when the day finally arrives, don’t forget to cast your pick for the presidency at the ballots.