by Serwan Zangana
Most politicians and lawmakers in the U.S have been driven by the major corporations and billionaires for the purpose of passing legislations that serve their agenda and business interests. Such a practice can be observed in the form of lobbying and funding the lawmakers. Elections in America are the most expensive political process as millions of dollars are thrown into both the Democratic and Republican Party’s candidates campaign.
According to International Business Times, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris raised $4.7 billion during the 2024 Presidential Election.
The status and popularity of the candidate can determine the endorsement and the amount of the donation that is given to the candidate. The political parties stand behind the strong candidates to enter the process and the more popularity the candidate gains, the more support receives from the party.
Prior to elections, each political party begins to focus on its target state, city, voters’ beliefs, concerns, and their weakness and strength. In general, the voters’ concerns and issues do not remain the same in every election. The politicians have to understand the voters’ mindset in order to launch the election campaign and form emotional bonds with the majority of the voters.
Also, to consider the voters’ historical affiliation with a specific political party, the candidate can see a clear view of the target group and how to launch his/her campaign.
Evidently, race and gender are playing a significant role in the elections. By creating a strategy to connect with diverse groups, the political party can capture the majority of their votes. The Democrats have successfully been able to surrender the minorities and women politically and capture their votes in every election with no struggle.
In the 2025 Virginia State Elections, the majority Black voters continued to embrace the Democratic Party and voted for all the state’s candidates. According to a poll by Virginia State University, 94.9% supported Spanberger for Governor, 95.7% supported Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor, and 93.2% supported Jones for Attorney General.
The Republicans are walking on a gravel path in reaching and connecting with the minorities in America. Regardless of the increase of Black voters for President Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election, former Vice President Kamala Harris still received a higher number of their votes.
According to Pew Research Center, Black voters for Trump increased from 8% in 2020 to 15% in 2024, but in fact, former Vice President Kamala Harris remained the strongest hope as she received 83% of the Black’s votes.
Also, Muslims are becoming more significant in elections as the number of Muslims winning and heading to the public offices on local, state, and federal level is increasing. And despite the historical shift from former Vice President and Democratic candidate Harris in 2024, as a large group of Muslims and Arab Americans in the state of Michigan endorsed Trump due to former President Biden’s position regarding the Israeli-Hamas war and his unwavering support for Israel, the majority Muslims remained Democrat supporters.
According to Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) which provides research about American Muslims, conducted a poll on American Muslims in 2025, and managed by NORC at the University of Chicago, revealed that in the 2024 Presidential Election 50% of Muslims voted for Harris, 31%, for Trump, and 12% for the Green Party’s Candidate Jill Stein.
Apparently, the Democratic Party has created a haven for the American Minorities as they perceive it as the defender of their civil rights. However, despite the differing views between a certain minority group and the Democratic Party on a specific matter, the results of every election shows the entrenched Democrats in the towns, cities, and states with large Black, Hispanic, and other minorities, such as Jews, Muslims, and Middle Eastern population in general.
Furthermore, while the billionaires and the major corporations and industries are fueling the political parties in America and influencing the elections with ample funds, the lawmakers’ role is to legislate such influences to maintain the existing bridge between them and the lobbyists.
For instance, in 2024, the CEO of Tesla, X, and Space X, Elon Musk backed Trump in the Presidential campaign and other Republican candidates with $277 million (Business Insider). Bill Gates in 2024, donated $50 million to a non-profit organization supporting Harris in the 2024 Presidential campaign (The New York Times). Adding to the list, billionaire Michael Bloomberg also donated $50 million to Harris’ presidential campaign in 2024 (Forbes).
Moreover, the two billionaires, the founder of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have backed Trump and the Republicans and funded Trump’s inauguration (NPR News).
After all, the billionaires generally drive the political Parties and the politicians, and the minorities are still struggling for their necessities.
