How Much Are Candidates Spending to Get Your Vote?

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By Molly Kelleher

Summary

Action News continues to track campaign spending. How much are candidates forking over to get your vote? Action News found out there's a big divide between cash on hand for incumbents and what challengers have to spend.

Story Published: Sep 5, 2010 at 5:40 PM PST

How Much Are Candidates Spending to Get Your Vote?

TRI-CITIES -- Action News continues to track campaign spending. How much are candidates forking over to get your vote? Action News found out there's a big divide between cash on hand for incumbents and what challengers have to spend.

A shift of power in congress hangs in the balance. There's two big races in our area, one longtime Democratic senator faces off against a Republican challenger. And a longtime Republican congressman is up against a Democratic challenger.

While the ads are coming fast and furious in the Patty Murray/Dino Rossi race. Not so much in the Doc Hastings/Jay Clough race. But that doesn't mean money isn't coming to both camps.

The last report to the Federal Election Commission shows Hastings has spent 14 times what his challenger has spent. That's as of the beginning of August.

Action News dug deeper to find that since the last filing, Clough brought in $25,000 in August alone.

But even with the added cash, he's still a long way from the fundraising power of the eight-term congressman.

And last time Action News looked into campaign spending in the Rossi/Murray race, the gap was wide because the records were older for Rossi. Now new numbers show where both sat just before the primaries, here's the breakdown.

Nearly $7.5 million has been brought in by Murray and she has spent $6.7 million of that as of the last federal filing.

Compared to Rossi, he's raised nearly $2 million and spent about $200,000 of it. But that's just up until August.

Action News also dug through individual contributions for Rossi. And they have been significant since his primary win, Action News combed through all the contribution lists in the last few weeks and discovered he brought in $250,000 in less than a month.

He's hoping contributions will close the gap on Murray, who still has more spending power.

Two very different races, both with the balance of power at stake and candidates counting on your vote.

Click here to look at the federal records and to find out which corporations are backing which candidates or how much each candidate is getting in donations.