Lee’s challenger outspent nearly 4 to 1

Lee’s re-election bid was further bolstered with about $50,000 in spending from the National Association of Realtors, and $45,000 from a second independent political committee, which took big contributions from former Gov. Roy Barnes, and a partner in Mathis’ law firm.

And Lee’s campaign raised at least $500,000 this year alone, more than double the $200,000 raised by Boyce. All told, Lee and the groups supporting him outspent Boyce nearly four to one.

Some spending on Lee’s behalf remains a mystery.

A “Tax Hike Mike Boyce” website cropped up during the campaign but has since been taken down. There was “Tax Hike Mike” direct mail and dozens of Facebook ads, all referring back to the website. None of it carried disclosures about who paid for it.

Passantino, the attorney for Revitalize America Fund, said it had nothing to do with the Tax Hike Mike campaign.

All the money didn’t help Lee, of course. In fact, it may have moved the needle against him — the chairman received fewer votes in the runoff than he did in the general primary, despite a slightly higher turnout in the runoff.

Boyce won with 64 percent. He takes office in January.

Savage spent $15,000 of mostly his own money, and won 10.5 percent of the vote in the general primary.

“The idea of dark money and things we usually associate with national-scale campaigns in this race is disturbing, and raises a lot of questions about what these people thought was so important about protecting their guy,” Savage said.

Boyce said his campaign didn’t track the negative ads because they decided early on to not respond.

The chairman-elect said he thinks it ultimately hurt Lee because there was so much mail, and because it didn’t “reflect the values of the community.”

“We raised and spent exactly what we needed to win,” Boyce said. “That reflects the kind of government I want to run, and it reflects the kind of person I am.”