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Dollars many; delegates few

CFM Chairman Phil Power was riffing today in his weekly column about the growing role of big-bucks contributors on the campaign process.

The boss is not going to like the latest news out of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network:

"First quarter television advertising in Michigan related to the 2012 presidential election stands at $7.6 million. Super PACs and nonprofit “issue” advertisers have outspent the candidates’ campaign committees by 50 percent."

After all this spending, the Detroit News is reporting that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum may have tied with 15 delegates each from Michigan. (Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich got none.) It takes 1,144 delegates to claim the Republican Party nomination for president.

Not exactly a great return on the ol' investment.

For details on the TV ads, go to http://www.mcfn.org

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