Not much to brag about. How much did he have to spend to save his sorry ass?
("I'm at a different stage of my life than he is," Graham said when I asked him about Cochran, adding, "I've been planning for a hard contest for two years.") He raised $13 million and seeded a formidable campaign operation, with more than 5,000 precinct captains and six field offices around the state. Through a combination of intimidation and enticement—as when he helped a conservative congressman, Mick Mulvaney, get a seat on the House Financial Services Committee—he kept the most prominent potential opponents out of the race. His six challengers include a state senator and five first-time candidates; combined, they have raised about $2 million.
He claims his win sent the Tea Party all these messages but it simply shows how hard it is to beat an entrenched bought-and-paid for politician.