John Corzine’s $131 million campaign expenditure

How much would you pay to be a U.S. Senator or Governor? For John Corzine, the answer is $131 million. That includes the amount of money spent on his Senate race and two gubernoatorial campaigns. As you might recall, Corzine lost a reelection bid to Republican Chris Christie.

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. » read more