Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia at a Trump rally in Wilkes-Barre, PA on September 3, 2022.
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Democratic opponent, Marcus Flowers, raised $15.6 million for his campaign.
He lost by 31 points on Tuesday in a race never seen as even remotely competitive for Democrats.
It’s the latest example of a long-shot Democrat raking in cash by taking on a high-profile GOP opponent.
Democratic candidate Marcus Flowers raised more than $15.6 million for his campaign to take on Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, according to federal filings, a sum of money sure to draw the envy of any congressional campaign.
And on Tuesday, he lost the general election in Georgia’s 14th district by more than 31 points, according to Decision Desk HQ.
—Marcus Flowers (@Marcus4Georgia) November 9, 2022
Flowers, a former defense contractor employee and US Army veteran with a questionable past, ran a campaign heavy on social media and email-based fundraising appeals; much of his war chest was spent on fundraising and digital advertising, along with more traditional media.
And his appeals centered primarily on the Georgia congresswoman, known for her far-right, conspiratorial brand of politics and close relationship with former President Donald Trump.
—Marcus Flowers (@Marcus4Georgia) October 31, 2022
“Tomorrow, with your help, we could make history by defeating Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Flowers wrote in a fundraising email sent on November 7, the night before the election.
“George deserves better than MTG,” read the subject line of another fundraising email also sent on November 7, apparently misspelling the name of the state he hoped to represent in Congress.
One email sent on November 6 carried the subject line “Emergency goal has been launched,” insinuating to readers that Flowers’ multi-million dollar campaign may actually be running short on money.
“My finance team is telling me we’re well short of our November benchmarks — and they encouraged me to launch an emergency fundraising goal immediately,” read the email. “I know your inbox is probably full of campaign requests right now. But let me make my case: We’re building the most extensive Democratic campaign this district has EVER seen — and MTG is terrified.”
Flowers and Greene during a debate in Atlanta, GA on October 16, 2022.
AP Photo/Ben Gray
The sum that Flowers raised is gargantuan for a congressional campaign, far outpacing the amounts raised by the party’s most vulnerable members.
According to OpenSecrets, Flowers was the sixth-highest fundraiser among all congressional candidates this election cycle, exceeded only by party leaders — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise — and well-known Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter of California.
Compare that to Democratic candidates in more competitive races, who have tended to raise between $3 and $10 million this year.
On the other side, Greene is also an unusually prolific fundraiser despite sitting in an uncompetitive district, raising nearly $12 million this cycle.
Thus, the race between Greene and Flowers — which took place in a largely rural district that backed Trump by over 40 points in 2020 — could be considered the most expensive congressional race in the entire country, at least in terms of the total sum of money raised by candidates’ own campaigns.
But it’s not the most expensive race when factoring in outside spending, which is a strong indicator of how party leadership and issue groups view the race, both in terms of the stakes and the chances of winning. According to AdImpact, that honor fell largely upon swing-district races in Michigan, Maine, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, where outside groups poured six and seven-figure sums into races seen as key to shaping control of the House.
By contrast, the general election between Greene and Marcus saw roughly $82,000 in outside spending, according to ProPublica. Over half of that spending came from the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.
Flower’s quixotic campaign is just the latest instance in an ongoing trend of long-shot Democratic candidates who have raked in cash by taking on controversial opponents. And despite his campaign arguably being a poor allocation of resources, 2020 saw even greater sums raised by long-shot candidates, mostly Democrats.
In 2020, Democratic candidate Amy McGrath raised over $96 million to challenge then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, while current DNC Chair Jaime Harrison raised over $132 million on an ill-fated attempt to unseat Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
This year, former Democratic Kentucky state legislator Charles Booker raised over $6 million this year for his campaign against Republican Sen. Rand Paul, only to lose handily. And Republican candidate Tina Forte — a long-shot challenger to Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — raised $1.2 million for a campaign that she’s losing by over 40 points as of publication time.