Final Tally: 2014's Midterm Was Most Expensive, With Fewer Donors

The 2014 election was the most expensive midterm election in history, costing a grand total of $3.77 billion. But for the first time since 1990, fewer Americans donated money in this midterm election than the one before. Simply put, more money went into the system, but fewer people provided it.

Among the most significant findings that can now be confirmed is that there were far fewer identifiable donors in the 2014 election than in the 2010 cycle. Then, CRP counted 869,602 donors; in 2014, we have been able to identify just 773,582 -- a decline of more than 96,000, or about 5 percent. The trend held true for candidates and political parties as well as outside groups: All relied on fewer people to raise more money. At the same time the number of individual donors declined, the amount they gave increased: The average contribution by each individual rose to an all-time high of $2,639. In 2010, individual donors gave, on average, $1,936.