Sources of funds for presidential campaigns differ in important ways from congressional elections. For starters, PACs play little to role in presidential elections. PAC contributions are very limited, and even when received are a minuscule percent of each candidate's total. In 1996, the maximum match was 61.8 million dollars each for Clinton and Dole. The Fund also paid 12.360 million to each major party to host their national conventions.
Candidates are also eligible for matches at the prenomination stage of the election.
They are free to finance their own campaigns with their own money, as Steve Forbes and George W. Bush, Jr. have done. Under these circumstances, the candidate is free from the spending ceiling. The Buying of the President 2000 reveals who is paying. Interest groups, labor unions, corporations, and the like, cannot directly contribute money to campaigns. PACs are best described as the donation arm of an interest group.