UPDATED Congressional Race: Who Got the Biggest Bang for Their Buck?

UPDATED Congressional Race: Who Got the Biggest Bang for Their Buck?

The post-election finance reports filed yesterday show that David Cicilline and John Loughlin were nearly tied in the final days of fundraising in the race for the First Congressional District.

From Oct. 14 to Nov. 22, Cicilline, the Democratic candidate, hauled in $220,361.69 in total contributions, according to his campaign finance report, which was filed with the Federal Election Commission yesterday. During the same period, his Republican opponent pulled in $207,823.81.

Overall, however, there was wide disparity in how much the two raised. Cicilline amassed $1.8 million in his election while chest while Loughlin racked up about $825,000.

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Loughlin spent half as much per vote

In the final stretch of the campaign, Cicilline leveraged his money, spending $511,974.09. Overall, his campaign cost $1.9 million. Loughlin spent $258,658.48 in the last month and about $718,000 overall.

In terms of how much they spent per vote, Loughlin ran a cheaper campaign. Each of his votes cost $10.04. Cicilline, on the other hand, spent $23.52 per vote, even though he garnered about 10,000 more votes in his election win. However, that does not take into account the fact that Cicilline also ran in a competitive four-way primary. Based on spending for votes in the primary and the election, Cicilline spent $18.67 per vote.

Cicilline spokesman: money was spent wisely

Hyers said his fundraising success showed that his message had resonated across the district. He said his emphasis on building a national infrastructure bank and creating Made In America block grants for manufacturers inspired voters and donors.

Hyers did not agree that the money spent per vote was a good measure of the campaign’s success, but he said funds had been spent carefully. “We owed it to the voters to spend that money as wisely and effectively as possible,” Hyers said. “If you look at all of the reports you’ll see that the money was spent effectively.”

Loughlin could not be reached in time for publication.