Up, Up and Away: There's no right answer to what role money should play in campaigns--but there are lots of opinions.

• Author: Underhill, Wendy
• Position: ELECTIONS - Brief article

Campaign spending reached about $2.4 billion during the 2016 presidential primaries and election. Congressional races accounted for another $4 billion. That's a far cry from the $195 George Washington is believed to have spent for food and drinks to help him win a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1757.

With the cost of campaigns rising with every election, candidates have come to rely on contributions from a variety of sources: individuals, PACs, unions, parties and corporations. But others view giving a donation to a political candidate as another expression of their right to free speech.

State legislators have had to balance these opposing views, while also adhering to a couple of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the role of money in elections. All 50 states regulate the way money may be raised to cover campaign expenses, with the three most common methods being disclosure and reporting requirements, contribution limits and public financing. Because the federal government leaves elections largely up to the states, the methods used vary dramatically across the country.

All states require candidates for elective office to report the contributions they receive while conducting a campaign. Thirty-nine states restrict the amount of money that any one individual can contribute...