Chip Cravaack didn't just unseat a legendary 18-term incumbent in November; he did it despite being outspent 3½-1.
That's according to the final campaign finance data released earlier this month, which shows that Jim Oberstar also outraised Cravaack 3-1. More than half of Oberstar's money came from political action committees, while Cravaack got the vast majority of his money from individual campaign donors.
The $2.5 million spent by the candidates was far short of the $16 million spent by Minnesota Congress member Michele Bachmann and DFL challenger Tarryl Clark. That race was the most expensive congressional election in the country, with Bachmann spending $13 million to win, according to OpenSecrets.org, which tracks campaign financing.
