In today's episode of Lest We Forget-Historical, host Lillian Cauldwell revisits the political past to discuss the campaign expenditures of political candidates in the years leading up to the last Presidential election. Ms. Cauldwell informs the audience that in the 2016 campaign for Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District, House Speaker Paul Ryan spent $13 million to win a race against an opponent who only spent $16,000.

She also notes that in the same year, 129 members of Congress were elected based on the amounts of money spent on their campaigns, with figures ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, while their opponents reported no spending. However, these statements are controversial because the competitors, anticipating defeat, chose not to spend, highlighting the impact of power, money, and influencers on our free elections—a point worth pondering.