Thinking about running for Congress? Can you raise $2,315 a day?
That is the average amount of money House members raised for the 2012 winning campaigns, according to a new report put out this month by MapLight, a non-partisan research organization that tracks money in politics. For the whole two-year cycle they raised nearly $1.7 million to win their seats.
And forget the old idea of the U.S. Senate being the millionaire’s club. On average, the winning U.S. Senate candidates raised more than $10 million in 2012. That’s $14,351 every day.
The member of Congress from Florida who spend the most to win his seat was U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, who raised $13.4 million to defeat Republican Connie Mack IV.
The top money raisers of 2012?
1. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., $42.5 million
2. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., $25.9 million
3. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, $22.0 million
4. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, $20.9 million
5. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., $18.8 million