Matching Funds Would Have Made Sanders Campaign More Flush Than Clinton’s

A system of matching small donations with public funds would have transformed the financial dimensions of the current presidential race, says a new report by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a federation of state public interest research groups.

Jon Schwarz reports at The Intercept:

With such a system, the Bernie Sanders campaign would have more money on hand than Hillary Clinton’s. And the Ted Cruz and Ben Carson campaigns would have far, far more cash than Jeb Bush’s.

In fact, the matching funds would provide so much extra money to Sanders, Cruz and Carson that they would be competitive in the money race even when Super PACs are taken into account.

The U.S. PIRG report assumes that to receive matching funds candidates would be required to take donations of no more than $200 from any individual. The matching funds would be provided at a 6 to 1 ratio; e.g., if an individual gave the Sanders campaign $100, the federal government would provide another $600, and Sanders would receive a total of $700. This is similar to the most established matching funds system currently in existence in the U.S., that of New York City.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.