Sharron Angle: The Rest Of the $$ Story

When Sharron Angle announced last week that her campaign had raised $14 million in a quarter, even Republicans were amazed that a candidate could raise so much off of a challenge to the emblem of Democrats, Harry Reid.

But with the actual filings today, we know now that Angle's $14 million came at a cost. Specifically, about $12 million. That's how much her campaign spent to raise the money -- an unfathomable percentage.

So Angle netted only $2 million and as a consequence, and has the same amount of cash on hand that Harry Reid does for the final stretch. Reid raised much less, but spent as much as Angle did on ads -- $7 million -- and still has $4 million in the bank.

Republicans generally have higher cost-per-dollar expenses because they rely on direct mail, which is quite expensive. Still, I can't find any other candidate who raised this much and netted this little. How did this happen? When Angle was putting together her "plan," consultants and whomever sold her on a program this expensive, which, of course, is in their interests too.

Remember, Angle was not supposed to win the primary. The initial group of consultants she hired were probably prospecting for lesser-known Senate candidates like Angle. And then they hit the jackpot. Not to say that her consultants did anything bad, but netting just two million from a $14 million haul is eye-raising.