The connection between money and local elections

How does money influence the outcome of local elections? In an effort to illustrate the connection, I have taken the currently available information and included that in the two graphs you see here. In the Fresno City Council District 7 race, you can see a direct connection between the amount of money a candidate had available and how many votes they received. It is interesting to note that each vote Clint Olivier received cost him $61. Each vote Mike Wells received cost him $41. Keep in mind that these are not the final numbers, because they have not finished counting all of the ballots and we have not received information about what money came in during the last couple weeks of the campaign.

Looking at the Fresno City Council District 1 graph you will see that it is possible to spend an enormous amount of money (Rama Dawar) and still not get into the run-off. On the other hand, look at the statistics for grassroots progressive candidate Rebeca Rangel. What would have happened if she had $90,000 to get her message out? It is impossible to say for sure, but it is likely that she would have either won outright or be in the run-off this November.