Roy Exum
Don’t get me started on the fact one Democrat presidential candidate spent $227 million on a race he didn’t win or that the unsuccessful Republican candidates spent more money foolishly than eight Navy recruits on a weekend in Tijuana. In presidential races, the media that sells the advertising is the real winner.
In my morning reading the other day, I got immersed in a dazzling demonstration of factual foolishness. InsideGov.com just did a tremendous job showing what each 2016 presidential candidate spent on votes in the primaries – sort of. What the InsideGov.com wizards did was estimate the vote totals in the Iowa, Nevada, Maine, Alaska and Washington caucuses based on voter turnout and what proportion of delegates each candidate won.
Then they got the latest financial disclosures from the Federal Election Commission on how much each candidate had spent through June and fed it all into the computer. Please note the spending totals do not include money from super PACs because they are considered separate entities from campaign contributions.
Basic math will reveal that if a candidate jumped ship early, either before any primary or after the first one or two, then the only few votes that person received warp the outcome, and, for example, is why Lindsey Graham’s per-vote cost is abnormally high.
As you ponder the millions and millions wasted, it may cause you to wonder if our election process has a little more to worry about than voter IDs and raucous national conventions. This spending is obviously the most for a presidential election ever, and it won’t end until Nov. 8.
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No. 1 –JOHN KASICH: $4.57 – The Ohio Governor got the biggest bang for his bucks. His marathon approach made his this season’s financial winner but the only primary he won was his home state. Kasich spent $19,335,673 for a total of 4,226,732 primary votes.
No. 2: DONALD TRUMP: $5.19 – The Republican nominee reportedly funded half of his bid for the White House with his own money. His media appeal – priceless. He spent $71,087,144 for 13,706,642 votes in the primaries.
No. 3 -- TED CRUZ: $11.21 – The Texas Senator was the last man standing against Trump and was the only Republican besides the nominee to win more than one primary. Since he was booed at the Republican National Convention, one wonders why he even bothered. Cruz spent $86,285,610 for 7,695,349 votes.
No. 4 – HILLARY CLINTON: $13.97 – The first female to ever represent the Democratic Party on the presidential ticket, Hillary spent $230,172,869 for 16,473,239 votes in the primaries.
No. 5 – MARCO RUBIO: $14.59 – The Florida Senator, easily the pick among the Republican leaders, had great footing after Iowa but as Trump picked up momentum, Marco lost it, getting beaten by over 18 points by Trump in his home state. Rubio spent $50,841,303 for 3,485,463 votes.
No. 6 – BERNIE SANDERS: $17.77 – The biggest surprise was how well Sanders’ “political revolution” did against the obviously well-oiled Clinton campaign. Bernie raised more eyebrows than most thought he would, spending $227,412.247 for a total of 12,797,701 votes.
No. 7 – MARTIN O’MALLEY: $56.42 – What, you’ve already forgotten the former Maryland Governor was in the race? Clinton and Sanders were so overwhelming, O’Malley quit the night of the Iowa caucus. O’Malley spent $6,237,028 for 110,554 votes.
No. 8 –BEN CARSON: $74.73 – It appears more and more like Carson was “too nice” in the company of Trump and Cruz ad while he led Trump in the polls, it is votes that matter more than points. The former neurosurgeon spent $62,510,067 for 836,528 votes.
No. 9 – MIKE HUCKABEE: $84.56 – When he ran in 2008 his Christian stance and the fact he was a preacher-turned-governor, or vice-versa, won the Iowa caucus but this time around, he got only 1.8 percent of the vote in the Hawkeye State and ran no further. Huckabee spent $4,314,704 for 51,024 votes.
No. 10 – RICK SANTORUM: $84.63 – The former Pennsylvania senator, who was a “first runner-up” in the 2012 Republican primary, never got much motion and his bare bones campaign approach couldn’t keep the pace. Santorum spent $1,405,989 for 16,613 votes.
No. 11 – JEB BUSH: $126.70 – A reserved style of campaigning left Jeb in the dust behind Trump and Cruz and, while he had a bundle of cash, his campaign made too many mistakes. Bush spent $35,409,278 for a total of 276,477 votes.
No. 12 – CHIS CHRISTIE, $153.23 – A red governor from a blue state, Governor Christie was a well-known name to America’s masses, his fame darting from Hurricane Sandy to the scandal of closing down some traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge. But soon his bid stalled and Christie jumped off his horse following the New Hampshire vote. His total spending was $8,702,317 for 57,545 votes.
No. 13 – RAND PAUL: $168.19 – After failing to cash in on the Libertarian party’s support for his father, longtime Kentucky Rep. Ron Paul, the Kentucky Senator never got out of the starting gate, to use Churchill Downs’ parlance. He spent a total of $12,253,969 for 72,856 votes.
No. 14 – GEORGE PATAKI: $273.68 – The former New York governor ran an inexpensive campaign and he exited the race a month before the Iowa caucus. His total spending was $535,040 for a total vote count of 1,955.
No. 15 -- CARLY FIORINA: $290.67 – The former Hewlett-Packard CEO, the lone woman in the GOP race, started out flashy but as the media probed her tenure at HP, she wilted and, after getting less than two percent of the Iowa caucus, ended up paying $290.67 per vote. Her total spending was $11,254,591 for 38,719 total votes.
No. 16 – LINDSEY GRAHAM: $1,013.74 – The South Carolina senator dropped out of the Republican line-up in December of 2015 and, because he ended his bid a month before the primaries, he paid $1,013.74 per vote. He spent $5,700,248 and had a vote count of 5,623.
royexum@aol.com