Biggest spender didn’t always win an election
This was most expensive midterms in history
WASHINGTON – A record-breaking total of more than $5 billion was spent on the just concluded midterm elections, but dozens of candidates who spent more money than their opponents were not celebrating a win on election night.
In at least 41 House races, the bigger spender lost – including 36 contests in which the Democrat outspent the Republican, according to an analysis compiled by USA TODAY.
That’s not to say the amount of money raised and spent was not a factor. The winner of the majority of House races was the candidate who raised and spent the most money. Democratic candidates held a huge spending advantage over Republicans in the midterms, which drew massive voter turnout compared to most off-year elections.
Democrats ousted one incumbent GOP senator – Nevada’s Dean Heller – and at least 22 Republican incumbent House members (with several races still undecided), while Republicans defeated four Senate Democratic incumbents – Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Bill Nelson of Florida.
Another big factor: the power of incumbency. More than 90 percent of the incumbents who ran for re-election won their races.
Records were also set by the more than $1.3 billion spent by outside groups – those other than the candidates’ campaign committees – and the $98 million in so-called dark money.
“Let’s say you haven’t paid any attention,” said Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, the government reform group. “The result would be pretty much what you expect: the red states went red; the off party in the midterm did well.”
A good example of a candidate who spent more money but didn’t win was in Georgia’s 6th District in the suburbs of Atlanta where Democrat Lucia McBath defeated Karen Handel. McBath’s campaign spent $1.2 million compared with $8 million by Handel’s campaign.
Outside groups helped make up the disadvantage that McBath faced by spending $12.2 million to support her or attack Handel, compared with $4.3 million spent by groups who backed Handel or attacked McBath.
Here are a few other campaign finance facts out of the 2018 midterms:
❚ The Texas race in which Republican Sen. Ted Cruz defeated challenger Democrat Beto O’Rourke is the most expensive congressional race in U.S. history, with O’Rourke alone setting a record by raising $69.1 million.
❚ The Congressional Leadership Fund, a committee that supports GOP candidates, set a record for a Super PAC by spending $137.5 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
❚ Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino magnate, and his wife, Miriam, were the top individual Republican donors, giving a total of more than $130 million to GOP candidates and other committees. The top Democratic giver was Thomas Steyer, who gave more than $50 million.