Recession Proof: 2010 Campaign Spending Breaks Records

The long arm of the lingering recession doesn't reach into politics, with campaign fundraising and spending records being set in House, Senate and gubernatorial elections this year, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Financial disclosures show that congressional candidates have raised nearly $1.2 billion so far, outpacing fundraising in the last three election cycles going back to 2004.

"We may be on track for the most expensive cycle ever, even more than '08, which is really hard to believe," Michael Toner, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, told the AP.

Record-breaking amounts of money are also flowing into 37 governors races -- from the major parties, private donors and outside groups such as political action committees and labor groups. In California, Republican Meg Whitman (pictured), the former Ebay chief, has spent $104 million of her own money on her campaign against Democrat Jerry Brown.

A major factor affecting campaign money may be the recent Supreme Court ruling that allowed unions and corporations to spend more freely on ads in national campaigns. Instead of getting overtly political, corporations are largely funneling their cash to trade associations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AP said. The Chamber could spend up to $70 million in 2010.

And because the law is so new, the FEC hasn't yet written rules on how to apply it. That means corporations and other groups will use the 2010 cycle to test the waters -- and really ramp up their donations in future elections.

"My guess is we're going to see more corporate money spent on elections," Larry Noble, former general counsel at the FEC, told the AP. "If it's successful and you don't see a lot of real pushback, then in 2012 you'll see even more of it. So this is a test election."