Money and influence have always gone together in politics, and business has always had more of it than labor. After several years of record profits, corporate America is sitting on unprecedented stockpiles of money. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned key laws that kept corporations from flooding elections with financial contributions. Now we're seeing that tidal wave of cash swamping everybody else.

Sources: Center for Responsible Politics, www.fairvote.org/research-and-analysis/voter-turnout/