Here's the man who spent $12 million on a congressional race — and lost

Meet the man who spent $12 million on a congressional race — and lost

Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY

Brian Witte, AP

Democrat David Trone greets commuters in Derwood, Md. Trone spent more than $12 million of his fortune on an unsuccessful House bid.

Wine distributor David Trone just made history, and he's probably not happy about it.

As the end of the day, Trone paid about $393 per vote that he won, roughly 10 times what each winning vote cost Raskin.The Democratic congressional candidate pumped more than $12.4 million of his fortune into his campaign for an open House seat in Maryland -- the most ever from a self-funded House candidate. Despite the money and the nearly non-stop advertising it paid for, Trone lost Tuesday's primary to a three-term state senator Jamie Raskin, who has been a champion of reducing the role of money in politics. Raskin raised about $2 million.

Trone, who co-owns a multi-state chain of Total Wine & More stores, joins a political graveyard filled with failed self-funders.

A quick tour: Wrestling magnate Linda McMahon spent more than $48 million in her unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat from Connecticut in 2012. A failed Senate candidate from Texas, former lieutenant governor David Dewhurst, spent nearly $20 million of his money that year, according to data compiled by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in federal election.

But they lag behind Meg Whitman, currently CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, who spent more than $140 million of her personal fortune in the 2010 California governor's race and lost to Democrat Jerry Brown.

Richard Drew, AP

Meg Whitman

For all the hand-wringing about campaign money, experts say raising money is a meaningful way for candidates to engage with potential supporters.

"People may say nice things, but you don't have a sense of who's really behind you," said Viveca Novak of the Center for Responsive Politics. "Contributions are a sign of being really committed to a candidate. If you have to raise money, you also are out there campaigning differently."

Trone's campaign had gained lots of attention — because of its proximity to Washington, D.C., and the rise this year of another candidate who is relying mostly on his own money, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.

But their candidacies are very different. For starters, Trone, a political novice, entered the Maryland race at the last minute, joining an already competitive battle between Raskin and Kathleen Matthews, a former local TV anchor and wife of MSNBC host Chris Matthews. Trump walked into the presidential race a famous man and has dominated media coverage ever since.

Another key difference between Trone and Trump: Trone donated all that money to his campaign outright. Most of Trump's investment — $36 million through the end of March — came in the form of personal loans from the candidate, allowing him to potentially recoup the money later with campaign fundraising. Nearly a quarter of Trump's total receipts have come from other people, although he insists he's not actively fundraising.