If you take a close look at the 2009 New Jersey Governor’s race, one interesting fact stands out. Chris Christie spent $11.4 million, while John Corzine spent $27 million. Of that $27 million, $25.3 million was his own. Not only did he lose despite out-spending his opponent by nearly 3 to 1, but nearly 94% of his campaign was self-financed. This tells me that he would have likely lost in a landslide if he were a man of modest means. Actually, if he were a man of modest means, he probably wouldn’t even be looked at as a legitimate candidate. If you don’t think so, just look at his lack of fundraising. Most people would agree that a strong candidate also needs to be strong fundraiser.

In a way, John Corzine’s loss is a win for those sickened by multimillionaires who try to buy elections. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was able to purchase his recent win, but Corzine’s loss gives me hope that voters will begin to look past the glitz and money.

After spending $74 million on his first mayoral campaign and $85 million on his second, Bloomberg went ahead and spent $102 million to win this years mayoral race. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s a whopping $183 for each vote. What would possess someone to do such a thing?

Most would agree that there are a plethora of ways to improve the city outside of politics, and he’s not doing it for the money, since the job only pays $85,000 annually. That leads me to the answer that you’ve probably known all along: Ego. A desire to see his name in the newspaper, his face on TV, and to be recognized where ever he goes. Or perhaps the position is just a toy for the guy who has everything.

Whatever Michael Bloomberg’s reason is for wanting to be Mayor, no one can deny that the campaign system is broken, and that people like him damage it further. Michael Bloomberg also shouldn’t take too much pride in his victory. His opponent, Michael Thompson raised a little over $8 million as of October 1st, yet despite being out-spent 13 to 1, lost by only 5 percentage points. If Mr. Bloomberg runs for a fourth term, he’ll probably need to crack the $200 million mark to buy that election.