In New York, Adam Rose's goals were far more narrow. Rose, whose previous largest single donation was $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee, doesn't even believe in 527s and PACs. "I honestly think that federal campaigns should be publicly funded with identical dollars for every candidate. But this is the current system."
Rose didn't want to flip a state legislature. He only wanted to take out Sue Kelly. "I just refused to live in a district with a representative who voted the way she voted," said Rose. Besides the $500,000 he contributed to Majority Action, he gave maximum donations of $25,000 each to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and he maxed out at $2,100 to Hall's campaign.
Unseating Rep. Kelly was an uphill battle from the start. Most strategists, Democratic and Republican, considered her seat safe. Not until the final weeks of the elections did it qualify for the DCCC's targeted Red to Blue campaign, which funneled money toward races seen as potential Democratic pickups.
But according to Jeff Cook, an openly gay Republican in the district who explored a primary challenge to Rep. Kelly, she was always vulnerable in both the primary and the general election.
"Her vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment, like her vote on Terri Schiavo, placed her outside the mainstream of the district," said Cook, "but also the Republican Party in the district," said Cook. His internal polling showed voters in the 19th District were equally divided between supporting gay marriage and opposing it, but he added that they were "overwhelmingly opposed to a constitutional amendment."
Cook said the building national wave and Kelly's failure to establish a persona separate from the Republican Party formed a perfect storm for her defeat.
"She lost because she ran a poor campaign, Democrats were energized in the 19th District and because her cash advantage was neutralized by Adam Rose," he said. "I don't think you can say his $500,000 was why she lost, but I think it was a critical component."
Cook said the situation in the 19th District has changed the playing field for moderates, both Democratic and Republican, as they weigh the impact of their future votes. "Those folks who have previously been in the middle of the House [of Representatives] are now going to have to make a decision," he mused. "It's not only what they believe is the right move, but also which constituency they are more afraid of."
The Republican Party leadership may also have to think about reining in its more outspoken members. In Colorado, Marilyn Musgrave survived yet another million-dollar challenge this year from Tim Gill and the Strykers. She did so, however, with 46 percent of the vote, the lowest share of any member elected to Congress this year. As Duffy noted, "The National Republican Congressional Committee had to spend a lot of money [on Musgrave] that they would have preferred to spend on an open seat race or to try to pick off a Democratic challenger." And as Salon previously reported, the erstwhile sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment spent very little time in the last weeks of the campaign talking about the issue she once called "the most important issue that we face today."
While Rose said he has no plans to repeat his 2006 spending, Tim Gill and Jon Stryker are likely to make more headlines in upcoming elections. Guerriero said Gill's "universe is expanding" and he plans to have a hand in politics for years to come. Earlier this year, Gill Action Fund held a conference of about 300 donors to educate them on how to focus their giving locally in order to elect progressive legislators and ensure that anti-gay legislation can be blocked.
The same goes for Stryker. "Jon is committed to this for the long term," said Turner. "This is just the beginning."
About the writer
Kerry Eleveld is a political reporter for the New York Blade.
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