Eric Cantor Did Not Spend $5 Million Running Against Brat. He Spent It Running Against Boehner

The Tea Party today is furiously trying to spin Eric Cantor’s loss as a function of their deft organizing in the face of David vs. Goliath odds. This despite the fact that reports indicate not only did the various Tea Party Groups not contribute to Brat’s campaign, but they may have even refused to take his calls. So how does a Congressional Candidate spend $5 million and lose to a guy that spent $125,000? The answer is pretty obvious when you dive into Cantor’s public disclosure of expenses. Over the past two years, Cantor spent $5 million, this is true. It’s not entirely clear what any of it had to do with his campaign, however. Here, for example, are the top 10 things he paid for:

Purpose	Amount
CREDIT CARD:SEE BELOW	708143
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: PAYROLL	521584
EVENT CATERING	305018
FUNDRAISING: FUNDRAISING CONSULTING	261962
PAYROLL TAXES	228676
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: PRINTING	189979
AIRFARE	167512
LEGAL CONSULTING	108599
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT/HOSTING	104714
FUNDRAISING: CATERING	83693

Of his top 10 expenses, what do you notice missing? How about Advertising? Direct Mail? Phone banks? But note the massive credit card expenses and bill for airfare. Cantor’s was a campaign on the move, but I’m guessing it moved a lot of places that weren’t in his district. Printing and Mailing Services accounted for only about $100,000 out of the $5 million he spent – roughly on par with what he spent for his website. His catering bills dwarf the amount he actually spent trying to win his seat. So unless he bought everyone in Virginia lunch, the idea that the upstart Brat spent considerably less than Cantor on the campaign is ridiculous. Granted, his spending through yesterday isn’t fully disclosed yet. It is possible his post-election report will include larger expenses for things like GOTV that have been spent since May 21 – the date of his last filing. However, based on news reports that Cantor’s pollster showed him 34 points ahead as of May 28, Occam’s Razor would suggest this was a campaign that did not take it’s opposition seriously. They did none of the things campaigns must do to win, while spending ridiculous amounts working on the one campaign they did care about – the race to replace John Boehner. The full dump of his campaign spending follows. Please note that there are numerous instances where slight variations in the text to describe the item’s purpose create redundancy. For instance, “Printing and Mail Services” vs. Printing and Mailing Services”.

Update: I should clarify my headline. When you spend next to nothing on your own race, and a huge amount on flying around the country on behalf of other candidates, you expect that to pay dividends. In this case, the grumblings about Boehner’s leadership and a coming challenge to the throne are well known. Cantor would be the apparent successor in a coup against our orange-toned Oompa-leader. From my read, based on 22 years in politics, is Cantor pushed to hard for the brass ring and not hard enough to keep his day job.

Purpose	Amount
Expense	Amount
CREDIT CARD:SEE BELOW	708143
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: PAYROLL	521584
EVENT CATERING	305018
FUNDRAISING: FUNDRAISING CONSULTING	261962
PAYROLL TAXES	228676
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: PRINTING	189979
AIRFARE	167512
LEGAL CONSULTING	108599
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT/HOSTING	104714
FUNDRAISING: CATERING	83693
CATERING	66503
PRINTING AND MAIL SERVICES	61676
TRAVEL: AIRFARE	58374
LODGING	57375
SURVEY RESEARCH	51800
STRATEGIC CONSULTING	51187
PRINTING AND MAILING SERVICES	49443
FUNDRAISING: EVENT CATERING	47845
RENT AND UTILITIES	45836
FUNDRAISING: PRINTING	41805
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: CATERING	33101
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: MAILING	31000
HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM	29940
CREDIT CARD PROCESSING FEES	22122
CELLULAR SERVICE	21661
MEETING EXPENSE – MEALS	19344
MEETING EXPENSE-MEALS	18898
EVENT LODGING/CATERING	17903
FUNDRAISING CONSULTING	14220
FUNDRAISING: ROOM RENTAL	13811
CONFERENCE CALL SERVICES	10091
INTERNET ADVERTISING	9965
PHONE SERVICE	9673
SOFTWARE SUPPORT	9406
CONFERENCE FEES	9079
TRAIN TICKET	8657
FUNDRAISING: SOUND SYSTEM/LIGHTING	8355
CELLULAR SERVICE/EQUIPMENT	8051
CONFERENCE GIFTS	7637
OFFICE SUPPLIES	7190
CAMPAIGN INSURANCE	7111
COMPUTERS/TECHNICAL SUPPORT	6627
COMPUTER EQUIPMENT	6578
EVENT LODGING	5265
OFFICE FURNITURE	5001
SPEECH CONSULTING	5000
EVENT DECOR – CARPET,STAGING	4910
MONTHLY PARKING	4785
COMPUTERS/TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT	4770
PRINTING	4715
POSTAGE	4617
POLLING: PHONE BANK	3750
SHIPPING	3696
EVENT SUPPLIES – TENTS/LINENS	3579
SEMINAR FEES	3309
FUNDRAISING: CREDIT CARD:SEE BELOW	3129
CONFERENCE CALL SERVICE	3082
EVENT SUPPLIES	2900
TEMP. ADMINISTRATIVE WORK	2885
GROUND TRANSPORTATION	2760
INSURANCE PREMIUM	2667
EVENT SPONSORSHIP	2500
COMMEMORATIVE COINS	2439
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: MILEAGE	2391
APPRECIATION GIFTS – FRAMES	2334
FUNDRAISING: RENTALS-LINENS,CHINA	2282
TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT RENTAL	2205
TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT	2083
DATA SERVICE	2050
INKIND: IN KIND:CATERING	2000
MUSIC FOR EVENT	1665
WORKERS COMP INSURANCE	1658
FUNDRAISING: EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY	1604
EVENT GROUND TRANSPORTATION	1598
FUNDRAISING: MUSIC FOR EVENT	1515
DATA SERVICES	1360
CELLULAR EQUIPMENT	1309
STORAGE FEES	1302
COMPUTER/SOFTWARE/MAINTENANCE	1231
EVENT SUPPLIES – BOOKS	1059
OFFICE EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES	1016
PHONE BANKS	952
EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY	893
LIST RENTAL	763
EVENT DECOR-FLORAL	727
EVENT SUPPLIES – TABLES, LINEN	721
SUPPORTER GIFTS – COOKIES	706
COFFEE/BEVERAGE SERVICE	685
INTERNET SERVICE	684
SUPPORTER GIFTS-CRYSTAL BOXES	675
AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT	670
PARKING	664
MEDIA DOWNLOAD	643
FUNDRAISING: VALET SERVICES	615
CAMPAIGN EVENT: BOOTH RENTAL	600
EVENT GOLF FEES	599
FUNDRAISING: GOLF FEES	599
PHOTO PROCESSING	551
EVENT SUPPLIES-GUIDE BOOKS	546
COOKBOOKS	535
SPEECH WRITING	500
TEMP. ADMIN. SERVICES	500
MONTHLY STORAGE	476
STORAGE	476
STORAGE FEE	476
COMMERCIAL BANKING FEES	452
OFFICE SUPPLIES – SCANNER, INK	447
ANNUAL STORAGE FEES	445
EVENT SUPPLIES-PAPER, BEVERAGE	408
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: PRINT AD	400
EVENT HOST GIFT-BASKET	392
EVENT DECOR	384
EVENT SUPPLIES-GIFT BAGS	375
LONG DISTANCE	367
BALLOONS	345
EVENT SUPPLIES-PAPER, FLORAL	345
EVENT SUPPLIES – PEANUTS	322
CREDTI CARD PROCESSING FEES	309
EVENT HOST GIFT-SILVER BOWL	278
EVENT SUPPLIES-NAME TAGS	270
HOST GIFT-BASKET	248
EVENT SUPPLIES – BEVERAGES	243
MILEAGE AND PARKING	232
PAYROLL PROCESSING FEES	218
EVENT HOST GIFTS – BASKETS	191
RENTAL CAR	167
FUNDRAISING: EVENT SUPPLIES – LINENS	161
EVENT HOST GIFT – BASKET	139
MILEAGE, CAB, MEAL	137
GIFT FOR HOST – SILVER TRAY	117
EVENT HOST GIFT-SILVER PLATTER	99
FUNDRAISING: EVENT PARKING	96
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: BOX FEE	88
CELLULAR SERVICES	81
HOST GIFT-SILVER TRAY	81
BANKING FEES	74
TRAVEL: GROUND TRANSPORTATION	55
INTERNET SERVICES	54
FUNDRAISING: VIDEO SERVICES	52
FAXING SERVICE	48
TRUCK RENTAL	43
SUBSCRIPTION	39
EVENT SUPPLIES – CANDY/WATER	36
EVENT PARKING	34
AIRLINE FEES	30
ADMINISTRATIVE/SALARY/OVERHEAD: PARKING	24
PAYROLL SERVICE FEES	21
HOST GIFTS-PEANUTS	16
DIRECT DEPOSIT FEES	2

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