Cash For Votes: How Much 2018 Bellevue Candidates Spent

BELLEVUE, WA -Can you win an election simply by spending lots of money? When it comes to the 2018 midterm elections in Washington, the answer is yes.

We looked at the major races at the federal and state levels and calculated how much each candidate spent per vote. In almost every case, the candidate who spent more per vote won their race.

There were a few exceptions.

The most interesting was the race between Republican state Sen. Joe Fain and Democratic challenger Mona Das. Fain spent almost double per-vote than Das, but he still lost. About a month before Election Day, Fain was accused of rape (a claim he denies), but, based on his spending, it appears he knew he was facing an uphill battle.

Still, Das squeaked by Fain by just 931 votes. That means Fain's spending almost made up for the cloud of a rape accusation.

The thriftiest candidate was state Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Woodinville, who only spent 24 cents per vote.

Check out how much the candidates in races near you spent per vote. We calculated these figures by dividing the total each candidate spent by how many votes they got. Most of these candidates raised much more than they spent, and some - like Dino Rossi and Kim Schrier - had help from outside groups. We did not include independent expenditures in these totals.

(The winner in each race is marked with an asterisk)

Federal

*Maria Cantwell: 1,765,765 votes, $8,326,605.23 spent = $4.71 per vote
Susan Hutchison: 1,251,846 votes, $1,281,554.15 spent = $1.02 per vote

Dino Rossi: 147,472 votes, $3,907,035.91 spent = $26.49 per vote
*Kim Schrier: 162,362 votes, $5,373,669.72 spent = $33.09 per vote

*Suzan DelBene: 194,850 votes, $1,359,177.98 spent = $6.97 per vote
Jeffrey Beeler: 133,939 votes, $14,252.05 spent = 10 cents per vote

*Pramila Jayapal: 327,483 votes, $1,317,541.19 spent = $4.02 per vote
Craig Keller: 64,543 votes, $2,180.00 spent = 3 cents per vote

*Adam Smith: 162,299 votes, $1,416,165.12 spent = $8.72 per vote
Sarah Smith: 76,462 votes, $92,871.74 spent = $1.21 per vote

Initiatives

I-1631 (carbon tax)
Yes: 1,311,268 votes, $14,819,460.15 spent = $11.30 per vote
*No: 1,705,150 votes, $29,682,765.63 spent = $17.40 per vote

I-1634 (soda tax ban)
*Yes: 1,672,940 votes, $20,204,044.02 spent = $12.07 per vote
No: 1,329,861 votes, no opposing group = $0 per vote

I-1639 (gun control)
*Yes: 1,801,812 votes, $5,118,319.70 spent = $2.84 per vote
No: 1,227,284 votes, $487,451.87 spent = 39 cents per vote

I-940 (police use of force reform)
*Yes: 1,793,010 votes, $3,075,629.27 spent = $1.71 per vote
No: 1,215,398 votes, no opposing group = $0 per vote

Legislature

Legislative District 5 (Issaquah, North Bend)
*Bill Ramos 38,756 votes, $329,718 spent = $8.50 per vote
Chad Magendanz 36,521 votes, $133,043 spent = $3.64 per vote

*Lisa Callan 39,122 votes, $263,101.73 spent = $6.72 per vote
Paul Graves 35,777 votes, $324,115.24 spent = $9.05 per vote

Legislative District 11 (Renton, Seattle)
(U) Zack Hudgins 36,109 votes, $9,684 spent = 26 cents per vote

(U) Steve Bergquist 36,081 votes, $81,494 raised = $2.25 per vote

Legislative District 32 (Shoreline)
*Jesse Salomon 40,681 votes, $158,865 spent = $3.90 per vote
Maralyn Chase 18,136 votes, $81,411 spent = $4.48 per vote

*Cindy Ryu 49,137 votes, $67,872 spent = $1.38 per vote
Diodato (Dio) Boucsieguez 15,612 votes, $1,034 spent = 6 cents per vote

*Lauren Davis 47,927 votes, $95,756 spent = $1.99 per vote
Frank Deisler 16,582 votes, $1,744 spent = 10 cents per vote

Legislative District 34 (Seattle, White Center, Vashon Island)
*Joe Nguyen 40,256 votes, $78,517 spent = $1.95 per vote
Shannon Braddock 28,817 votes, $165,234 spent = $5.73 per vote

(U) Eileen L. Cody 56,790 votes, $82,861 spent = $1.45 per vote

(U) Joe Fitzgibbon 56,004 votes, $85,701 spent = $1.53 per vote

Legislative District 36 (Seattle)
*Reuven M. Carlyle 78,245 votes, $92,378 spent = $1.18 per vote
Bryan Simonson 9,643, $0 spent = $0 per vote

*Noel Christina Frame 77,071 votes, $103,082 spent = $1.33 per vote
Sydney Gillman Wissel 9,889 votes, $0 spent = $0 per vote

*Gael Tarleton 74,904 votes, $108,065 spent = $1.44 per vote
Matt Dubin 12,125 votes, $58,135 spent = $4.79 per vote

Legislative District 37 (Seattle)
*Rebecca Saldaña 57,101 votes, $114,787.17 spent = $2.01 per vote
Beth Broadway 7,051 votes, $0 spent = $0 per vote

(U) Sharon Tomiko Santos 53,831 votes, $56,715.60 spent = $1.05 per vote

*Eric Pettigrew 54,743 votes, $89,778.76 spent = $1.64 per vote
Tamra Smilanich 7,097 votes, $0 spent = $0 per vote

Legislative District 41 (Mercer Island, Bellevue)
*Tana Senn 45,075 votes, $62,968.48 spent = $1.39 per vote
Tim Cruickshank 24,036 votes, $15,529.50 spent = 64 cents per vote

*My-Linh Thai 45,151 votes, $124,093.69 spent = $2.74 per vote
Michael Appleby 23,742 votes, $49,592.06 spent = $2.08 per vote

Legislative District 43 (Seattle)
*Jamie Pedersen 75,037 votes, $123,298.16 spent = $1.64 per vote
Dan Harder 7,896 votes, $2,171.12 spent = 27 cents per vote

*Nicole Macri 75,407 votes, $101,878.25 spent = $1.35 per vote
John Peeples 7,348 votes, $563.79 spent = 7 cents per vote

*Frank Chopp 73,541 votes, $142,095.26 spent = $1.93 per vote
Claire Torstenbo 8,753 votes, $1,742.31 spent = 19 cents per vote

Legislative District 45 (Redmond, Woodinville)
*Manka Dhingra 44,993 votes, $156,080.99 spent = $3.46 per vote
Dale Fonk 25,980 votes, $45,760.51 spent = $1.76 per vote

*Roger Goodman 47,413 votes, $116,997.00 spent = 24 cents per vote
Michael Curtis 22,907 votes, $1,144.07 spent = 4 cents per vote

*Larry Springer 47,406 votes, $127,134.27 spent = $2.68 per vote
Amber Krabach 22,789 votes, $12,436.80 spent = 54 cents per vote

Legislative District 46 (Seattle, Lake Forest Park)
*David Frockt 64,760 votes, $136,931.27 spent = $2.11 per vote
Beth Daranciang 13,783 votes, $5,516.90 spent = 40 cents per vote

*Gerry Pollet 64,812 votes, $30,733.42 spent = 47 cents per vote
Jeff Patton 13,550 votes, $0 spent = $0 per vote

*Javier Valdez 64,986 votes, $49,217.83 spent = 75 cents per vote
Jerry Zeiger-Buccola 12,916 votes, $0 spent = $0 per vote

Legislative District 47 (Renton, Kent, Auburn)
Joe Fain 27,271 votes, $510,734.14 spent = $18.72 per vote
*Mona Das 28,202 votes, $268,436.84 spent = $9.51 per vote

Mark Hargrove 25,850 votes, $124,480.79 spent = $4.81 per vote
*Debra Entenman 29,719 votes, $262,536.71 spent = $8.83 per vote

*Pat Sullivan 34,687 votes, $256,174.52 spent = $7.38 per vote
Ted Cooke 20,562 votes, $0 spent = $0 per vote

Legislative District 48 (Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond)
*Patty Kuderer 33,297 votes, $366,806.59 spent = $11.01 per vote
Rodney Tom 17,935 votes, $177,268.20 spent = $9.88 per vote

(U) Vandana Slatter 40,148 votes, $56,091.94 spent = $1.39 per vote

*Amy Walen 33,939 votes, $124,271.66 spent = $3.66 per vote
Cindi Bright 12,533 votes, $37,255.79 spent = $2.97 per vote

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch