A close race in suburban Washington's 8th Congressional District was the most expensive U.S. House campaign in Maryland history -- and one of the most costly in the nation -- as Rep. Constance A. Morella and state Sen. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. together spent nearly $6 million seeking the seat.
Van Hollen, the Democratic challenger, raised slightly less than Morella, an eight-term Republican incumbent, but won by a 52-47 percent margin.
Morella spent just under $3 million, while Van Hollen spent almost $2.9 million.
"It's staggering," said Maryland pollster Keith Haller.
Spending on the hotly contested campaign overshadowed that in the also competitive 2nd District race -- where Democrat C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger defeated Republican Helen Delich Bentley.
Ruppersberger edged out Bentley in direct spending by $1.2 million to $1 million, but the Democrat also enjoyed more help from his national party in his 54-46 percent victory.
In the 8th District, Morella fought an uphill battle to hold on to a district that Democratic leaders had redrawn to favor one of their own.
To challenge her, Van Hollen had to win the most expensive primary battle for a House seat in Maryland history. If spending by other primary candidates is taken into account, the total cost of the 8th District race exceeded $9 million.
Steve Weiss, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, said that would apparently make the race the second-most expensive House contest in the country -- after one in West Virginia.
If spending only by the two major party nominees is considered, the Maryland race still will likely rank among the top five races nationally. Postelection finance reports were due yesterday, but not all had been posted on the Federal Election Commission's Web site.
Whichever figure is used understates the true cost of the campaign. Haller said the Republican and Democratic parties, as well various interest groups, spent a minimum of $3 million to influence the race.
"The Maryland congressional elections became a national contest. The stakes were extraordinarily high," he said.
Maryland proved to be one of the few bright spots for congressional Democrats, who had hoped to take back control of the House. The party's two-seat pickup here was more than offset by defeats in other states as the Democrats gave ground in the House and lost the Senate.
The Democratic successes in Maryland were fueled by an infusion of money to the state party to use in congressional races. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee pumped $1.3 million into Maryland party coffers after the September primary.
There was no comparable Republican effort in Maryland.
Michael S. Kosmas, Bentley's campaign manager, said the national Republican Party reneged on commitments that it would match Democratic spending in the district. "We have never really gotten a good explanation for it," he said. "There's no doubt that we would have won but for the fact we were blown away by national spending."
Jarrod P. Agen, Morella's campaign spokesman, said the national party gave the congresswoman all the assistance she expected. "They were helpful all the way," he said.