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Hilary Clinton significantly outspent Trump in 2016, and was very cozy with Wall St types. She lost. The establishment candidate backed by money was firmly defeated by noxious asshole with Qanon support.
https://www.opensecrets.org/pres16
That said, I do agree that we desperately need campaign finance reform. Not because money reliably buys elections, but because of the corrupting effect it has on politicians.
Although I appreciate the organization 'opensecrets' ... I don't trust the organizations and groups that give over information for reporting purposes.
Millionaires and billionaires and corporations have a habit of being able to fudge, fake, deflate or exaggerate reported numbers for their own benefit.
I worked in a small way for political organizations at the local level in southern Ontario ... nothing major but nothing minor either. One of the things I learned was that money and those with lots of money easily influence people without having to spend any money - all they have to do is promise money later. It means a campaign can count on the expertise of highly trained people who volunteer for a campaign.
Who do you think has more chance of winning an election .... a campaign filled with inexperienced college student volunteers who have no resources or wealth of their own ... or a campaign filled with business/media/advertising/political/legal professionals who are all volunteering their time and personal resources to a campaign ........... and all of this is never reported as a financial number in a spreadsheet or report, and if it is, it is almost impossible to calculate the value.
Yeah that's fair. I don't think we should devalue the potential for grassroots movements to achieve results though. The potential for grassroots campaigns to achieve success, particularly in smaller races where a candidate can focus more, is still significant. We just need to remember that we're up against what is still a large number of voters that simply favor moderate politicians, even if they can't name a moderate policy position they favor.
Clinton was on track to win, and would have, but James Comey (Director FBI) pulled the rug on her, in October, by publicly announcing the reopening of her email investigation.
Yeah, I'm sure it contributed. There were a lot of factors though. Ultimately, the people that said she was a weak candidate were right, she really notably lacked charisma, and had a penchant for getting herself into trouble. "Basket of deplorables" was a self-own. She also could've played nicer with the Bernie Bros.