It’s difficult to overstate the magnitude of Eric Cantor’s upset loss to little-known challenger Dave Brat in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District. Through May 21st, Brat received no PAC donations, was outraised 25-to-1, and saw just $4,805 in outside spending on his behalf. Last night, journalists combing through CRP’s data on the race came up with an even more eye-popping way of putting the disparity in perspective: Cantor spent more at steakhouses than Brat had spent on his entire campaign through May 21st.

So was Cantor doomed to lose by his high-rolling, Washington insider spending habits? Probably not. Cantor’s expenditures aren’t so different from other big-time fundraisers, most of whom cruise through their primary every year.

Nobody doubts Cantor’s fundraising, and spending, prowess. Through the most recent round of FEC filings, Cantor easily outspent every other House candidate except the one who outranks him in the GOP: House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) who reported paying out $11.6 million to Cantor’s $5 million. Cantor hasn’t been shy about spending money to make money, doling out $1.3 million on fundraising through March 31st. He was, indeed, fond of steakhouses (as CRP has reported more than once), spending $292,751 on his ten favorite restaurants this cycle.

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As big as those figures are in absolute terms, though, they’re not out of line with Cantor’s peers. The median incumbent House member has spent 32 percent of her money on fundraising in 2014; Cantor has spent 33.5 percent. Other members of the House leadership are in the same neighborhood, such as Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), at 37 percent, and Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), at 32.6 percent — although some, such as Boehner, at 9.6 percent, are notably more efficient. Where Cantor differs is in his preference for holding fundraisers, rather than raising money through other means such as direct mail. More than 21 percent of Cantor’s haul went to such events, a larger share than all but 11 other House incumbents.

What’s more, as a member of the leadership Cantor had to do double fundraising duty, bringing in cash for party committees and Republican candidates as well as his campaign’s coffers. Cantor heads this cycle’s runaway No. 1 leadership PAC, Every Republican Is Crucial PAC, which has spent $3.8 million. Only 50 percent of that money went to candidates and Republican committees; much of the rest ($952,508) was spent on fundraising at many of the same venues, such as BLT Steak ($54,518 from ERIC PAC, $44,460 from his campaign committee). Again, though, Cantor’s leadership PAC contributes only a slightly smaller share of its proceeds to candidates and the party than the 51 percent median for such committees this cycle.

All told, Cantor spent nearly $2.3 million on fundraising for his campaign committee and leadership PAC this cycle. That money brought good returns in the form of contributions rolling in, but not at the ballot box, at least not this time. But while BLT Steak and Bobby Van’s may miss one of their best customers, voters will likely continue to send the vast majority of high-raising incumbents back to Congress year after year.



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