WASHINGTON — In an election where Republicans flipped the House and Democrats narrowly held onto the Senate, the biggest losers in 2022 were self-funding candidates. Of the eight congressional contenders who loaned or contributed $10 million or more to their campaigns this year, only one heavy spender will be seated in January.
Democratic Rep. David Trone of Maryland was the only top spender to win his race as he scored a narrow victory. Trone, co-founder of Total Wine & More and the sole incumbent among the self-funders, invested more than $12 million of his own money into the contest. That’s nearly 15 times the amount raised by his Republican opponent Neil Parrott, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign finance.
But other heavy spending candidates, like celebrity physician Mehmet Oz and Missouri Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine, were defeated. Oz, who shelled out more of his own money than any other congressional candidate this year, lost to Democrat John Fetterman in one of the country’s most closely-watched contests. Oz poured $23 million of his fortune into his campaign through October, including a $2 million donation on Oct. 25, the day of his highly-publicized debate with Fetterman.
