Earned Media and the Role of Finance in the 2024 Presidential Campaigns

In this book, Cayce Myers examines one of the most unusual elections in the history of American politics to analyze the role of campaign finance in the 2024 US presidential election. While studies often focus on what can be achieved through campaign fundraising, Myers posits that this election also presents a perfect case study of what funds alone cannot achieve.

In his analysis of the 2020 presidential election, Myers demonstrated how Donald Trump's lack of campaign funds and inconsistent messaging strategy resulted in a victory for Joe Biden (Money in Politics: Campaign Fundraising in the 2020 Presidential Election, Lexington Books). In the 2024 election, however, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris amassed a fortune in donations, with Harris ultimately losing despite both outraising and outspending Trump during her short campaign. This, Myers argues, is evidence of the shifting nature of political campaigns and the media in the 2020s. Analysis of donation amounts and campaign narratives brought to light a disconnect between what candidates and campaigns have traditionally prioritized and an upending of previously understood strategic norms.

Through his analysis of the 2024 campaign, Myers rethinks precedent in the context of modern tactics utilized by Trump in his campaign, such as recognizing the power of earned media through alternative outlets, like podcasts, and the leveraging of unscripted, viral moments that dominate the media narrative. With these 'new rules' now in play, Myers provides an updated account of the current political reality for government and campaigns in the United States.