Candidates Raised $1.4B In '08
By Reid Wilson
Candidates for House and Senate raised $1.42B in the '08 election cycle, according to an FEC analysis released Tuesday.
The 2,382 candidates who sought Cong. seats last year actually raised less than candidates did in the '06 cycle, fueled by a drop in receipts by Senate campaigns. In total, Cong. candidates raised $1.438B in '06.
Senate candidates raised $435M in '08, down 19% from the '06 cycle. House candidates raised $980M, 13% above the '06 totals.
Meanwhile, the cost of winning a House seat rose in '08 while the cost of a Senate seat fell. The average winning House candidate spent $1.37M in '08, up from the $1.25M average in '06. The average winning Senate candidate in '08 spent just over $7.5M, significantly less than the $8.8M a winner spent in '06.
But spending more money did not guarantee a candidate would win. 4 of the top 10 recipients of campaign cash ended up losing their races in '08, including ex-Rep. Doug Ose (R) in CA, Sandy Treadwell in NY, Deborah Honeycutt in GA and Jim Oberweis in IL.
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), who gave heavily to his own campaign, raised the most of any incumbent, pulling in $7.35M. Reps. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Bill Foster (D-IL) and Ron Paul (R-TX) and House Min. Leader John Boehner all raised more than $5M. Only Kirk and Foster, though, faced competitive elections, while Rangel and Boehner spread much of their money to their colleagues.
Meanwhile, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and his ousted rival, ex-Sen. Norm Coleman (R), raised the most on the Senate side, at $22.5M and $19.3M, respectively. Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell and his '08 foe, businessman Bruce Lunsford (D), combined to rake in more than $29M, the second-most expensive race. Candidates in NC, GA, CO and TX combined to spend more than $20M each as well.
And the level of influence of outside groups continues to rise as well. Independent expenditures and electioneering communications by outside organizations combined to reach more than $1M in 12 Senate contests and 55 House races.
The groups spent most heavily in OR ($28.6M), NC ($27.9M), NH ($26.4M), MN ($24.9M) and CO ($20.1M). Dems won each of those races. Outside groups spent more than $5M in contests won by Reps. Erik Paulsen (R-MN), Mark Schauer (D-MI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH).
More fun facts, courtesy of the FEC, after the jump.
Top 10 House Money-Raisers
1. Doug Ose (R) -- CA-04 -- $7.897M
2. Jared Polis (D) -- CO-02 -- $7.353M
3. Sandy Treadwell (R) -- NY-20 -- $7.043M
4. Mark Kirk (R) -- IL-10 -- $5.456M
5. Deborah Honeycutt (R) -- GA-13 -- $5.280M
6. John Boehner (R) -- OH-08 -- $5.161M
7. Charlie Rangel (D) -- NY-15 -- $5.093M
8. Jim Oberweis (R) -- IL-14 -- $5.091M
9. Bill Foster (D) -- IL-14 -- $5.061M
10. Ron Paul (R) -- TX-14 -- $5.014M
For the top 50, click here [pdf].
Top 10 Senate Money-Raisers
1. Al Franken (D) -- MN -- $22.502M
2. Norm Coleman (R) -- MN -- $19.298M
3. Mitch McConnell (R) -- KY -- $18.681M
4. Elizabeth Dole (R) -- NC -- $17.268M
5. John Kerry -- MA -- $16.116M
6. Saxby Chambliss -- GA -- $13.969M
7. John Cornyn -- TX -- $13.727M
8. Mark Warner -- VA -- $13.663M
9. Mark Udall -- CO -- $11.787M
10. Bruce Lunsford -- KY -- $10.883M
For the top 50, click here [pdf].
Top Outside Spending In Senate Races
(Winning party in parentheses)
1. OR -- $28.668M (Dem pickup)
2. NC -- $27.903M (Dem pickup)
3. NH -- $26.415M (Dem pickup)
4. MN -- $24.911M (Dem pickup)
5. CO -- $20.111M (Dem pickup)
6. GA -- $19.728M (GOP hold)
7. MS -- $15.138M (GOP hold)
8. KY -- $9.222M (GOP hold)
9. LA -- $7.262M (Dem hold)
10. AK -- $5.463M (Dem pickup)
Top Outside Spending In House Races
(Winning party in parentheses)
1. MN-03 -- $6.004M (GOP hold)
2. MI-07 -- $5.873M (Dem pickup)
3. NM-01 -- $5.208M (Dem pickup)
4. OH-15 -- $5.125M (Dem pickup)
5. MS-01 -- $4.928M (Dem pickup in special, Dem hold in general)
6. CO-04 -- $4.924M (Dem pickup)
7. Nv-03 -- $4.856M (Dem pickup)
8. MI-09 -- $4.581M (Dem pickup)
9. LA-06 -- $4.532M (Dem pickup in special, GOP pickup in general)
10. NJ-07 -- $4.124M (GOP hold)
Top House/Senate outside group spending can be found here [pdf].
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