# What is the most personal money a losing candidate has spent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776 "2008-02-08T07:15:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/1 "2008-02-08T07:15:59Z")
It’s being reported that Mitt Romney has spend $35 million on his [del]lost[/del] suspended campaign. This is dwarfed by Ross Perot who “spent an estimated $65.4 million of his own money.” (wiki) Is this a record or has anyone spent more? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/2 "2008-02-08T15:08:48Z")
Perot has the record. By moving directly to the general election, he spent the most the fastest. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/3 "2008-02-08T17:18:03Z")
Considering the time and inflation, you could make a good case for [John Connolly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Connolly): > [@](#): > > Connally eventually focused on South Carolina, an early primary state where he had the support of popular U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, but he lost there to Reagan 55 to 30 percent (15 percent for Bush) and withdrew from the race. After spending $11 million during the campaign, Connally secured the support of a single delegate, the late Mrs. Ada Mills of Arkansas, who became known as the “$11 million delegate.” Connally quickly endorsed Reagan and helped him to win only a narrow primary victory over Bush in Bush’s adopted home state of Texas. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/4 "2008-02-08T18:36:54Z")
[Tom Golisano](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._Thomas_Golisano) spent $93 million of his own money on his three runs for Governor of New York. There are other recent examples of millionaires running for the Senate using mostly their own money, like Mike Ciresi and Blair Hull. [This 2006 article](http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061024/NEWS/610240381/1017/NEWS0501) says: > [@](#): > > The national record for most money spent by a candidate on his or her own campaign is $7.8 million. In 2002, West Virginia Democrat James Humphreys, an attorney, set that record, but lost to current U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican. I think the reporter means for a congressional race, but he doesn’t cite a source so I’m not sure. Frankly, I suspect that number might be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/5 "2008-02-08T19:07:10Z")
This has always astounded me. For that kind of money you could _buy_ a dozen Congress-critters, who would do your bidding like good little boys/girls. Why try to _be_ one? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/6 "2008-02-08T19:38:20Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] This has always astounded me. For that kind of money you could _buy_ a dozen Congress-critters, who would do your bidding like good little boys/girls. [/QUOTE] No, you can’t. Not legally, anyway. Since the advent of campaign finance laws, the only person to whom you can donate huge amounts of money for federal office is yourself. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/7 "2008-02-08T19:43:15Z")
I wasn’t talking legal, which is why I used the term “buy.” 😃 Congress-critters still take bribes. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/8 "2008-02-08T20:49:24Z")
Not a factual answer / more a possible / plausible future record setter: In late December, Maggie Haberman reported that people close to NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg have said that if he runs for President, he’ll spend up to one year’s salary ($1 billion) on an independent run. Considering the fact that in 2004, a little more that double ($2.1 billion) was spent by all presidential & congressional contenders, that’s a huge chunk of change. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/9 "2008-02-09T01:24:13Z")
[QUOTE=anson2995] [This 2006 article](http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061024/NEWS/610240381/1017/NEWS0501) says: I think the reporter means for a congressional race, but he doesn’t cite a source so I’m not sure. Frankly, I suspect that number might be wrong. [/QUOTE] They may be meaning for the House. I know that quite a few Senate races have had more spent (Michael Huffington [spent](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE0DD1630F934A25757C0A963958260) [around $28 million](http://edition.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/17/huffington.return.ap/index.html) in 1994, Jon Corzine [around $60 million](http://www.opensecrets.org/pressreleases/Post-Election2000.htm) in 2000). ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/10 "2008-02-09T03:36:15Z")
And if I can ask a related question that I’ve been wondering about since Perot’s run, is any part of a candidate’s spending of his personal funds tax deductible? In other words, are we taxpayers subsidizing these millionaires’ vanity? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-personal-money-a-losing-candidate-has-spent/436776/11 "2008-02-09T05:55:34Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] And if I can ask a related question that I’ve been wondering about since Perot’s run, is any part of a candidate’s spending of his personal funds tax deductible? [/QUOTE] Depends on how they do it. A donation to a political campaign, even your own, is not deductible under IRS rules. But a **loan** to a campaign that is not paid back is treated like any other kind of bad loan, and can be written off against your income for that year. Which is why you often see candidates loaning money to their campaign committee, rather than donating it.