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It’s the most expensive U.S. midterm election ever, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CPR), which estimates that almost $4-billion will be spent. CPR, which tracks money spent in politics, reports that an “explosion” in outside cash is a dominant theme of the election.

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The group says at least $663-million has been spent by outside groups, like Super PACs, but estimates another $233-million will be spent in the last 12 days, a rate of $19.4-million a day.

And the race for the Senate, which could flip from Democrat to Republican, has attracted huge sums of outside spending — about $338-million, according to the group. The North Carolina senate race is expected to be awarded the dubious honour of being the most expensive in U.S. history with a total of $100-million being spent.

Both sides know they have everything to play for. If Republicans can capture six seats, they can take the Senate and control of Congress. Republicans could then aggressively push policies of free trade, tax reform, and deficit reduction as well as the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil from Canada to the U.S. The election is Nov. 4. So which are the key states to watch and how much outside money has been spent in them?