The amount of money Trone has burned through is staggering. According to the self-funding compendium Open Secrets, Trone, co-owner of Total Wine & More, spent more of his own money on his Senate primary than any candidate in the 21st century (and, almost assuredly, ever).
He spent more than any Senate candidacy period – primary And general elections – except potentially one. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) spent $63 million in 2018. We’ll see if Trone’s total ends up beating Scott as he files more campaign finance reports. (Scott, unlike Trone, won.)
If there’s a silver lining for Trone, it’s that the investment could have been worse.
Although Trone will likely have spent around $200 per vote when the full results are in, that’s not even the worst return on investment for a self-funder this year. And that’s not even the worst return on investment for Trone personally.
One of our favorite election statistics is self-funding dollars per vote. And the recent election was marked by some doozies. Candidates are spending more and more of their own money not only to lose, but to lose in primaries and not get as many votes.
While many have pointed to the billion dollars Michael Bloomberg (Democrat) spent on his 2020 presidential campaign, other presidential candidates actually performed worse in terms of dollars per vote. And at the top of that list – by a country mile – is Doug Burgum (right).
Burgum, the North Dakota governor, spent about $14 million of his own money to run for president last year, but he abandoned his term a month before the Iowa caucuses. That means he garnered about 500 votes in states where he remained on the ballot. Total cost: nearly $28,000 per vote.
(But hey, he could always use his investment in choosing Donald Trump as his vice presidential nominee or in Trump’s cabinet. So maybe it would have been worth it after all.)
Also ahead of Bloomberg is his compatriot Tom Steyer (D), 2020 presidential candidate. While Bloomberg spent his billion on about 2.5 million votes (about $427 per vote), Steyer spent more than $340 million of dollars for approximately 260,000 votes (approximately $1,315 per vote). by voice).
Among candidates who self-funded $10 million or more only to lose a primary this century, these are the three worst returns on investment.
Coming in fourth place: David Trone… in 2016.
At the time, he spent more than $13 million to win by about 35,000 votes, losing to current Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), at a cost of $379 per vote.
Following Trone’s 2016 bid are 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ($330 per vote), 2022 Wisconsin Senate candidate Alex Lasry ($317 after withdrawing before the primary) , 2004 Illinois Senate candidate Blair Hull ($213) and 2022 Ohio Senate candidate Mike Gibbons ($147). ).
Which means that, depending on the final vote in Maryland and campaign finance totals, Trone could soon account for either 2 of the 7 worst returns on investment – or simply 2 of the 8 worst.
washingtonpost
