Here's how much money Trump and his GOP rivals spent per Iowa vote: reports
January 17, 2024
The Don scored big win in the Iowa Caucus, but spent pennies compared to his GOP rivals.
After creaming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley — crossing the 50% threshold, taking 98 of 99 counties in the state, he also claimed victory without having broken the bank.
Former President Donald Trump's campaign spent roughly $328 per vote in the state through Jan. 15 with 56,000 voters caucusing for him, according to AdImpact and detailed in a Business Insider report. (Vivek Ramaswamy spent more per vote with $487.)
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In all, the the Trump campaign took Iowa for a bargain $7,018,016, and super PACs spent $11,454,607.
DeSantis wasn't shy to talk up his ground game, hitting every county in the state and winning endorsements from Gov. Kim Reynolds and religious leader Bob Vander Plaats.
In terms of piggy bank return on investment, DeSantis blew through about $35.06 million along the same timeline — winning just 23,000 votes.
That amounts to $1,497 apiece.
In total, the DeSantis campaign was thrifty with $3,021,449, but his supporting super PACs (primarily Never Back Down) spent a whopping $32,037,828.
And that amount may be contested. That's because ABC News reported the governor burned through more than $100 million, roughly $4,200 per vote in Iowa.
Meanwhile, Haley's campaign and super PAC paid about $1,760 for every one of her 21,000 votes for her. The campaign paid $5 million in ads and like DeSantis, the super PACS also spent big with $32,144,446, according to Business Insider, citing AdImpact data.