(NewsNation) — Election day is over for most of America, unless you live in Georgia.
The U.S. Senate race that Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock won in a runoff election two years ago is headed for a runoff again, this time Dec. 6.
Another month of campaigning means another month of nonstop ads, and many voters are tired.
“Open Secrets” senior data analyst Brendan Glavin told NewsNation on Wednesday that some of the major donations in the Georgia races are coming from “dark money” groups.
It’s the billions of dollars pumped into elections by secret donors behind the scenes. The act itself is legal, and both parties are doing it.
Open Secrets, a nonprofit, nonpartisan website that tracks political donations, revealed that in 2006, dark money donations were less than $5 million. However, during the 2012 election cycle, dark money jumped to more than $300 million. And now, in the 2022 midterms, it’s expected to be in the billions.
“Within those groups, you can’t say exactly how much dark money is flowing into Georgia. But what we do know is that some of the major donors are dark money groups,” Glavin said on “Banfield.”
Despite the massive donations, small campaign donations can still make a big difference in the outcome, according to Glavin.
“On one hand, it’s hard to see how someone’s $10 contribution makes a difference. But when you have a couple hundred thousand people giving $10, $20, $30 … then it makes a real difference to the campaign.”
