The Skyrocketing Costs of Running for Mayor of a Major U.S. City

The speed at which federal campaigns blow through money has become terrifying. The 2012 election will surely go down as the most expensive in history, with races for Congress and the White House sucking in $6 billion in contributions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

It's less visible, but this accelerated spending is happening at the micro-level, too. Politicos hungering for the keys to America's major cities are pounding through the historical ceilings of campaign contributions. Take a look at today's election in San Diego: Two candidates sparring for mayor's office have spent $10 million between them, making it the city's priciest mayoral election, ever. That's nothing, though, compared to the more than $100 million recently doled out by the mayor of a certain East Coast 'burg that rhymes with "Moo Mork Mitty."