According to an Insider review of federal and state campaign spending, 16 out of the 22 top-spending candidates in the midterm elections lost their races.
Combined, the 16 also-rans spent over $223 million of their own money — just over half of the nearly $443 the top self-funding candidates spent this cycle.
This overall poor midterm showing illustrates a long-term trend in US politics: only a small fraction of candidates who fill their campaign coffers with their own money actually win office.
Most of these 16 losers never made it to the 2022 general election, losing in their primaries. Oz, whom Democrat John Fetterman defeated last week, was one of just three major self-funders to emerge from a primary before losing anyway in the general election.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member