There’s been plenty of conversation lately about shady tactics used to raise money. But almost no attention is paid to an even more dangerous problem: how much of that money is wasted once it’s raised.
I’ve been at this a long time—helping campaigns both bring in dollars and decide how to spend them—and I can tell you from firsthand experience: waste and fraud in digital ad buying are bleeding us dry. And unless we correct the course now, Democrats will continue to fall behind.
That’s why this week’s episode of The Forecast feels so urgent. My guest, strategist Myles Bugbee, who will soon be unveiling Receipts, a new tool designed to shed light on where ad money actually goes. From bots and geo-leakage to inflated CPMs and middlemen skimming fees, Receipts exposes the hidden costs that too often mean fewer voters reached—and lost races. He's also just released a guide for local campaigns and small organizations with actionable steps for reducing ad waste. And he's looking for any feedback on the tool from practitioners and citizens before releasing it. You can reach him directly at [email protected]
The bottom line: if we don’t fix this, we will keep losing elections we should be winning.