Congressional candidates on way to spending record $2 billion, watchdog group says

It was Mark Twain who dryly noted that Americans have the best government money can buy. In that case, the new Congress chosen in this midterm election is shaping up to be a beaut.

At a time of recession and recovery, House candidates will likely raise and spend more than a record $1 billion, the nonpartisan Public Campaign Action Fund said Tuesday. Adding the spending for the Senate will likely raise the total to more than $2 billion.

The nonprofit group said that House candidates alone in this cycle raised 30% more and spent 54% more than the contenders had spent at the same point in 2008. When the dust settles and there is a final accounting after this year’s races, House candidates will have raised nearly $1.3 billion and spent more than $1.4 billion, the group said. It said its analysis was based on data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

“Candidates are raising more money in 2010 than ever before, and spending it at a much quicker pace than 2008,” said David Donnelly, director of the organization’s Campaign Money Watch project. “With all the attack ads, candidates have to spend more time dialing for dollars and less time talking with voters. They have to feed the beast – the endless raising and spending for campaigns – that is devouring our democracy.”

According to the Federal Election Commission’s website, House and Senate candidates have already reported spending almost all of the about $1.6 billion that has been raised in this cycle. According to the FEC, the Senate campaign in this cycle have already disbursed nearly $600 million.

The $2-billion figure does not include spending for local races, which have set their own records in states such as California, where Meg Whitman, the GOP candidate for governor, reportedly has spent more than $150 million of her own money on her campaign.

According to the Campaign Action Fund’s analysis, the projection of $1.275 billion in fundraising for the 2010 cycle represents a doubling since the 2000 election. The projection of $1.445 billion in spending is 2 1/2 times the amount spent in 2000.

Republican House candidates raised approximately $30 million more than Democrats through the third quarter in 2010, the fund said. In the 2008 election at this time, the Republicans had raised nearly $64 million less.

Democrats, including President Obama, have campaigned against the lack of transparency of funds being raised by outside groups. But the issue goes further, the Action Fund said.

“To only focus on the outside secret money misses the full story of what is happening in races all over the country,” Donnelly said. “Increased fundraising from wealthy donors, coupled with the secret outside money, puts our elections further into the hands of relatively few Americans. Regardless of the outcome next Tuesday, the winners will be the big donors.”

mchael.muskal@latimes.com

Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal