Although it is illegal for political candidates to buy votes from the people, the advertising that candidates buy seems to be helping them win people over all the same.
Federal campaign finance records show U.S. Sen. Spence Abraham, R-Auburn Hills, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, have spent more than $13 million this year campaigning for a seat in the U.S. Senate, not including soft money from political parties or other groups.
Abraham has spent $8.2 million and has $932,556 left to spend, while Stabenow has only spent $4.8 million, and has $595, 617 left to spend.
A poll by Mitchell Research & Communications showed Abraham had a 16-point lead over Stabenow last week.
Charles Atkin, chairman of MSU’s Department of Communication, said the amount of advertising Abraham has been able to purchase has helped contribute to his lead in the polls.
“The advertising has been the main way people find out about the candidates and has been very effective,” Atkin said. “(Abraham) has done a crafty job of making (Stabenow) look bad while not feeling any of the backlash.”
Abraham and Stabenow have outspent previous candidates for the Senate seat. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Republican Ronna Romney spent $9 million combined in the 1996 election. Abraham and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Carr spent $7.4 million combined in 1994.
Michigan has the fourth most expensive U.S. Senate race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Atkin attributes some of the increased spending and fund-raising to the heightened level of competition between the two candidates.
“(Stabenow) was seen as a credible candidate with a chance of winning if she promoted herself correctly,” he said. “The perception on the part of the contributors that the race might be close caused more aggressive fund-raising.
“Going into this race, experts considered it a toss-up.”
Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Abraham campaign, said they have worked to meet the high costs of advertising to compete with Stabenow’s campaign.
“It’s very expensive to buy all that television air time, all that radio air time and a Web site,” Davis said. “It’s critical to have the resources to get your message out, and everyone involved is running an aggressive campaign.”
Other races have spent large amounts as well.
In the race for the 8th Congressional District, state Sen. Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga, and state Sen. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, have spent nearly $4 million.
Byrum spokesman Tom Russell said the cost of communication is getting higher, and campaigns have to grow with it.
“Campaigns have become more expensive at the state and federal level, and this is a very competitive district,” Russell said. “We have a good cross section of society - rural, suburban and urban, agriculture and industry, and they’re all competitive.”
Each political campaign plans to empty its piggy bank by the time elections are over by increasing advertising and appearances in the last few weeks of the campaign season.
“You don’t win a race like this with money in the bank,” Russell said.
