Since the passage of campaign-reform laws in the 1970s, the average amount spent by a winning candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives has risen from less than $88,000 in 1976 to more than $556,000 in 1992. Over the same 16 years, the average price of a U.S. Senate seat has gone up sixfold, to $3.6 million. In the 1,332 races in which incumbents have sought re-election since 1986, only seven challengers have won without spending at least $250,000. Part of this inflationary spiral can be blamed on the increased use of expensive TV ads, but much of it...
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