Candidates spent more to win in 2014Date: 2/27/2015 BOSTON – The 2014 election saw an overall increase in political spending of 9 percent and the pattern generally showed in statewide offices that spending more money brought political success.
The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) issued its 2014 election cycle report on Feb. 18. Statewide candidates raised $33 million and spent $33.1 million.
In the governor’s race, winner Charlie Baker spent $5.6 million with Martha Coakley spending $3.9 million. Baker’s expenditures were $1.1 million greater than the last time he ran against Deval Patrick.
The total money spent in the governor’s race was far less, though, than in 2006, the last election when the seat of open. At that time candidates spent $42.3 million.
Democratic gubernatorial candidates Steven Grossman and Don Berwick both spend more than $2 million, as did independent Evan Falchuk. The other independent gubernatorial candidates, Jeffrey McCormick and Scott Lively, spent nearly $1.5 million and $35,430, respectively.
The big spender winning the race held true for the lieutenant governor race with Karyn Polito spending $1.7 million.
Only in the attorney general race did the winner spend less money than another candidate. Maura Healy spent a total of $1.4 million while her fellow Democratic opponent, Warren Tolman who lost in the primary, spent $1.9 million.
Locally, the races carried the same kind trend. According to OCPF year-end reports from Oct. 18, to Dec. 31, 2014, in the state senate contest between Eric Lesser and Debra Boronski, Lesser had a beginning balance of $42,420.068, raised $34,442.00 and spent $65,361.84.
Boronski had a beginning balance of $19,967.64, raised $9,086.75 and spent $46,707.06. She had a deficit of $17,652.67.
In the state senate race between incumbent state Sen. Donald Humason and Patrick Leahy, Humason, the winner, had a beginning balance of $41,609.70, raised $7,610 and spent $40,105.46.
Leahy had a beginning balance of $9,962.97, raised $5,863.02 and spent $15,192.07.
Year-end reports were not available for what was seen as the major political upset in Hampden County, the race for Register of Probate between veteran state Sen. Gale Candaras and acting Register of Probate Suzanne Seguin.
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