What price victory?

$2.8 billion.

This year’s intensely competitive election for control of the House of Representatives and Senate will be the most expensive midterm election ever, the Center for Responsive Politics predicts. Candidates, national political parties and outside issue advocacy groups will spend roughly $2.8 billion by the end of 2006 to influence the 472 federal contests around the United States and pad the war chests of incumbents not running this year.