INDIANAPOLIS – Outside groups have targeted the state of Indiana with so much money that three federal primary races have landed in the top ten most expensive contests nationwide.
Republicans seeking to win open seats in the U.S. Senate and Congressional Districts 3 and 8 have racked up millions in outside spending. Other open but highly competitive seats — in the 5th and 6th Congressional Districts — haven’t attracted the same interest.
The rankings come from an Open Secrets compilation of outside spending for primary expenditures, an ever-evolving list updated with new reports from the Federal Election Commission. As of May 1, Indiana’s 8th District — once called the “Bloody Eighth” — ranked sixth in the nation for spending, followed by the 3rd District in eighth and the U.S. Senate race in ninth.
Allen County Republican Party chair Steve Shine said, “I don’t know if I’m surprised because, in any heated election, you expect outside forces to come in and do negative advertising against the people they don’t support. In the 3rd Congressional District, the candidate spending is much less than the PAC spending … and that’s telling when an outside force spends more than the candidates.”
Here are the outside spending totals: $5,069,670 in the 8th District, $3,760,618 in the 3rd District, and $3,632,278 in the U.S. Senate race.
That spending includes zero dollars for or against Democratic candidates.
Read the complete Whitney Downard story for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
