Money matters: The big spender has won the
presidential election in the USA for at least one-half a century.
The pattern for congressional elections is similar, although it iscomplicated by
the gerrymander phenomenon.
| Year | Winner | Big Spender | Loser | Comments |
| 1956 | Pres. Dwight Eisenhower | Pres. Dwight Eisenhower | Sen. Adali Stevenson | Stevenson, first Catholic nominee, also ran first televised campaign |
| 1960 | Sen. John Kennedy | Sen. John Kennedy | Sen. Richard Nixon | |
| 1964 | Pres Lyndon Johnson | Pres Lyndon Johnson | Sen. Barry Goldwater | |
| 1968 | Sen. Richard Nixon | Sen. Richard Nixon | VP Hubert Humphrey | Dem. frontrunner Robert Kennedy assassinated late in primaries. |
| 1972 | Pres. Richard Nixon | Pres Richard Nixon | Sen George McGovern | |
| 1976 | Gov. James E Carter | Gov. James E Carter | Pres Gerald R Ford | |
| 1980 | Gov. Ronald Reagan | Gov. Ronald Reagan | VP Walter Mondale | |
| 1984 | Pres. Ronald Reagan | Pres. Ronald Reagan | VP Walter Mondale | |
| 1988 | VP George H. W. Bush | VP George H. W. Bush | Gov. Michael Dukakis | |
| 1992 | Gov. William Clinton | Gov. William Clinton | Pres. George H. W. Bush | |
| 1996 | Pres. William Clinton | Pres. William Clinton | Sen. Robert Dole | |
| 2000 | George W Bush | George W Bush | V.P. Albert Gore | Gore wins popular vote. (Electoral vote contested.) |
| 2004 | Pres. George W Bush | George W Bush | Sen. John F Kerry |