I have posted this draft for an upcoming conference on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The collapse of campaign finance regulation in the United States has facilitated a path toward oligarchic power redistribution. Americans did not adopt the current set of rules favoring the influence of the ultrarich over who is elected and what candidates do once in office through democratically-promulgated legislation. Instead, a long-term litigation strategy using the First Amendment of the United States Constitution as a deregulatory cudgel has decimated reasonable limits enacted by Congress and curtailed even disclosure of some political activity. Remaining campaign finance rules are easily circumvented, leading to faux regulation that makes it hard for ordinary people to understand the increased power of the wealthy.
Under the current campaign finance regime, American billionaires have begun giving tens—and increasingly hundreds—of millions of dollars to nominally independent political groups (including “super PACs”) to support candidates for President and other offices. These outside groups may accept unlimited funding to coordinate with candidates, including staffing their entire field operations, without running afoul of the legalistic prohibition on “coordination.” Such spending buys outside group funders unprecedented candidate access. With plutocratic power rising, other actors are constrained: political parties remain severely limited in their ability to coordinate and raise funds. Strict direct individual contributions limits curtail the average voter’s influence and can trap less sophisticated donors who lack lawyers navigating them through the loopholes.
Part I describes the litigation strategy that led to deregulation with a false appearance of continued regulation. Part II describes the state of campaign financing in federal elections in the United States, with special attention paid to the activities of the ultrawealthy in the 2024 elections, especially Elon Musk. Part III explains how the new campaign finance regime, facilitated by litigation-driven deregulation, raises the risk of American oligarchy.
Here is a figure from the paper:
