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How Much Money Does It Take to Win an Election? (Infographic) When it comes to getting elected, currency counts as much as policy.

By Carly Okyle

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Joseph Sohm | Shutterstock.com

Politicians will do whatever they can to earn your vote. They'll kiss babies, take meetings, debate and hit the late night talk shows. They'll also spend a lot of money, as the infographic created by NowSourcing for online advertising company El Toro shows.

The amount of money presidential candidates spend while running for president has risen from $528 million in 1980 to $1.7 billion in 2012. Unsurprisingly, more of that money goes to television and digital ads over ads in newspapers or on the radio.

Related: How This App Is Making Civic Involvement Profitable

While candidates spent just over $22 million on digital ads in 2000, in the last election cycle, that number grew to more than $150 million. The projections for digital promotions this year are exponentially higher, at $1 billion.

Check out the infographic below to see in which state the most money is spent on political ads and how those sums break down between local and national elections.

Click to Enlarge+
cost of presidency (Infographic)
Carly Okyle

Assistant Editor, Contributed Content

Carly Okyle is an assistant editor for contributed content at Entrepreneur.com.

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