Among all the election hubbub going on around town (and throughout the country), you might have not noticed what’s going on in the 8th Congressional District.
That’s not for lack of trying. According to SEC filings, the candidates for this seat have collectively spent nearly $14 million on their campaigns so far, making this by far the most expensive race for a place in the U.S. House of Representatives so far this year.
The seat is being vacated by Chris Van Hollen, who’s held it since 2003, and who has decided to move on to bigger things–that is, he’s running for Senate. Vying to take his place on the Democratic side is David Trone, a businessman who’s spent $9 million of his own money so far. To put that in perspective, in the second most expensive race (for the 8th Congressional District in Ohio), all the candidates combined have spent $8 million.
Other Congressional hopefuls are also throwing money around in an attempt to compete with Trone. On the Democratic side, there’s Sen. Jamie Raskin, Del. Kumar Barve, and former journalist Kathleen Matthews (who happens to be married to MSNBC host Chris Matthews). On the Republican side are a bunch of people with much less strong of a chance.
