Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TSA: Sokoto Uncovers N1.5Bn in 100 Idle Accounts

Two weeks after the formal introduction of the Treasury Single Accounting (TSA) system in Sokoto, the state government said it has uncovered N1.5 billion lying idle in 100 redundant accounts belonging to it in various commercial banks in the country. The state commissioner of finance, Alhaji Umar Saidu, who stated this in Sokoto on Sunday while giving an update on the system’s implementation, said government is determined to trace and close down all dormant and  inactive accounts operated by it. He said since the introduction of the TSA, there has been a massive improvement in the reconciliation of public finance figures between the government and commercial banks. This, according to him, has reduced risk of errors in reconciliation processes and has enhanced timeliness and quality of the fiscal figures from such accounts. The commissioner said the introduction of the TSA has now enabled government to regularly monitor public cash balances while at the same time ensu...
2 comments
Read more

Recession: Sokoto Cancels Scholarships, Withdraws its Students from Foreign Universities

Sokoto state government has given approval for the transfer, back home, of 39 of its citizens currently in various schools in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. In today’s exchange rate, the move will enable the government save over N500m from the policy. The government said this signals change of priorities in the payment of scholarship to study abroad. “The transfer/relocation of the students was necessitated by the need to conserve funds and apply same to more critical areas in the education sector,” the state Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said this Friday in Sokoto when he received the report of the committee instituted to advise government on the issue. He added that admissions have been secured for all the students in Nigerian schools, while arrangements have been made to ensure that none of them misses a grade level upon their return home. “As at the time we sent the children to Dubai to study last year, the state government was spending over 400 million naira per ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Great Ways On How To Look Taller Even Without High Heels

By  FPN Most women who are petite wear high heels to look  taller. Apparently, high heels make women feel good and also make us feel sexy. For those who wear high heels to look taller, there are other ways which you can look taller without high heels. 1. Flats and strappy sandals, especially in light or nude colors, that show a lot of skin will help elongate your legs instead of just cutting them off at the ankles. When it comes to boots, look for styles that end just above your ankle, at the narrowest part of your leg, so that as much of your leg is visible as possible. You can also try a fitted over-the-knee boot, but make sure to wear it with something extra short and fitted through the waist to make your legs look as long as possible. 2. Style your hair so that it has some height and fullness around the crown. You don’t have to have a big hair look, but avoid flat and smooth styling on top. 3. When going for jumpsuit, look for something fitted and tai...
Post a Comment
Read more