WEBVTT - How Much Does It Cost To Run For President?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Sagger. Here, here's some good news for the Americans

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<v Speaker 1>out there dreaming of being president. It turns out the

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<v Speaker 1>job requirements are surprisingly simple. You just have to be

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<v Speaker 1>a natural born US citizen thirty five years or older

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<v Speaker 1>who's lived in the US for the past fourteen years.

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<v Speaker 1>But of course there's another factor here, money. So how

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<v Speaker 1>much does it actually cost to run for president? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>good news, registering as a presidential candidate isn't actually that expensive. First,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to fill out, surprise, a government form. It's

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<v Speaker 1>called the Statement of Candidacy or FEC Form two, and

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<v Speaker 1>you're required to submit this within fifteen days of becoming

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<v Speaker 1>a candidate. So when does an average Jane or Joe

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<v Speaker 1>become a candidate? According to the FEDS, you're automatically a

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<v Speaker 1>candidate once you're team has either received five thousand dollars

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<v Speaker 1>in contributions or racked up five thousand dollars in campaign expenses.

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<v Speaker 1>You can view the list of candidates online and it's

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<v Speaker 1>a long one. In June, the FBC listed one thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>seven hundred and seventy two candidates. That's right, you are

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<v Speaker 1>just five thousand dollars away from joining such influential Americans

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<v Speaker 1>as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Obi One Jedi, Kenobi,

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<v Speaker 1>and Nicki Minaj. Yeah. Really so. Hypothetically, if you've paid

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<v Speaker 1>five thousand in campaign costs, you mail the form and

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<v Speaker 1>we include the cost of the stamp, you're looking at

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<v Speaker 1>just over five grand. That's that's not so bad. But

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<v Speaker 1>remember there's a big difference between running for president and

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<v Speaker 1>actually winning, so to campaign successfully, you're gonna need more

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<v Speaker 1>than five thousand bucks. Your next step will be getting

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<v Speaker 1>on state ballots, and each state may have different rules

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<v Speaker 1>outlining how you can do this. Unless you're already established,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll need petitions. For example, in Democratic candidates needed either

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<v Speaker 1>one percent or five hundred signatures from Democrats in each

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<v Speaker 1>of California's districts, but there were over fifty districts. This

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<v Speaker 1>means you'll need a volunteer campaign, along with advertising and

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<v Speaker 1>probably a paid staff. While it's possible to be a

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<v Speaker 1>write in candidate, it's not probable that you'd be able

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<v Speaker 1>to garner any significant numbers that way. Caucus states like

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<v Speaker 1>Iowa just require enough people to show up and cast

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<v Speaker 1>a ballot for you, but there are hundreds of caucuses

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<v Speaker 1>in Iowa alone. You'll need a strategy to reach these voters,

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<v Speaker 1>which again means you'll need a staff. You'll also need

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<v Speaker 1>money for advertising, travel, and more. The cost of pizza

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<v Speaker 1>for volunteers alone could run into the tens of thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of dollars over time. By this point, the campaign has

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<v Speaker 1>already become mass of the expensive. Luckily, you've got contributors.

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<v Speaker 1>Virtually no viable candidate is going to be self funded. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the average would be President receives contributions from individuals, parties, corporations,

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<v Speaker 1>political action committees, and so on. Uncle Sam has different

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<v Speaker 1>limits on how much money these entities can contribute during

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<v Speaker 1>the primary and general elections. While every campaign is different,

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<v Speaker 1>there are some definite trends. For instance, each recent campaign

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<v Speaker 1>seems to be more expensive than the last. According to

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<v Speaker 1>the FBC, President Obama's twelve re election campaign raised six

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and eighty three point five million dollars. Contributions from

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<v Speaker 1>the Democratic Party and other outside groups raised the total

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<v Speaker 1>to around one point one billion dollars. The entire twelve campaign,

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<v Speaker 1>all parties combined, was estimated to cost two point six

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<v Speaker 1>billion dollars. Pundits fundraisers and other policy wonks predicted the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen campaign would top these numbers, with the Clinton

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<v Speaker 1>campaign alone rumored to possibly reach one point five to

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<v Speaker 1>two billion dollars. These numbers lead speculators like the Economist

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<v Speaker 1>to predict that the election may eventually ring in at

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<v Speaker 1>an unprecedented five billion dollars. Does this mean you have

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<v Speaker 1>to be a multimillionaire to become commander in chief? No,

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<v Speaker 1>but it does mean you'll need millions of someone's dollars

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<v Speaker 1>to ensure your voice is heard amid the din of

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<v Speaker 1>all the other candidates vying for the public's attention. In

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand four, George W. Bush spent three hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>sixty seven million dollars for re election, while the John

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<v Speaker 1>Kerry campaign spent three hundred twenty eight In two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>and eight, the first Obama campaign spent seven hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>thirty million dollars, with the McCain side spending three d

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<v Speaker 1>and thirty three. As we saw earlier, the Obama re

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<v Speaker 1>election push cost six hundred and eighty three million dollars

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<v Speaker 1>compared to the Mitt Romney campaigns four hundred and thirty

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<v Speaker 1>three million. Now do you notice a pattern In recent elections,

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<v Speaker 1>it seems the folks who spent the most ended up

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<v Speaker 1>in the White House. If this trend continues and you

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<v Speaker 1>want to be president in six or later, well either

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<v Speaker 1>start saving or start writing to your supporters. You're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>need all the help you can get. Check out the

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<v Speaker 1>brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for more on this

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<v Speaker 1>and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.