The Rise of the Consultancy

The annual Political Pages directory of political businesses and consultants has been published. Here are some notes about the industry from Things I Don't Like:

Consider this: total campaign spending around the country has grown about 375% since 2000. The market for State House and local campaigns alone is about $1 billion. Total spending just this year will be around $7 billion. The number of candidates hasn’t changed, just the number of people getting paid to elect them has exploded.

It’s worth keeping in mind that there is an enormous concentration of wealth among the most successful political professionals. In the last mid term campaign cycle, just 600 political consultants controlled $1.8 billion in campaign spending.

The blog entry provides a breakdown in the growth of various aspects of the political industry.