Tuesday, 18 March 2008
How Bad Was The Loss In the 30th?
« Budget Crisis? | Main | Don't Try To Send Beshear an Email »We already know that the Democrats poured a lot of time and resources into the special election for Mongiardo's old seat. Only know do we get the full picture of the carnage.
FRANKFORT -- The Kentucky Democratic Party and its unsuccessful candidate in February's special state Senate race spent roughly $550,000 -- the most money expended on a losing legislative campaign in Kentucky history.
That amount doubled the $275,000 total that Republican Brandon Smith and the state GOP dished out in the winning campaign for the 30th Senate District.
Not only did Beshear and Mongiardo spend a lot of political capital on the race, the Democrats spent a lot of money on the seat. Outspending the Republicans 2 to 1. The final tally really accentuates the loss and makes it all that more humiliating for the Dems. It also makes you wonder why they took such a risk over a seat that wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things.
The Republicans on the other hand performed brilliantly in this contest. They put forth a better candidate and devoted enough resources to stay competitive in the race. Of course they had nothing to lose in the race which makes the small risk well worth the reward. By doing so, they wiped out any momentum the Democrats had and returned it back to the Republicans.
