With days left in the election barrage, one clear lesson from the U.S. Senate race is that the candidates have less direct control over money and campaign messages than ever before.
Between them, Sen. Mark Begich and Dan Sullivan have spent more than twice as much as Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Joe Miller and Scott McAdams did in the 2010 Senate race in Alaska.
Throw in the money from outside interest groups and the tally is more than seven times higher than the Murkowski spelling test of 2010.
Direct spending by Begich and Sullivan is about on par with the average in U.S. Senate races in 2012, including states where voters are counted in the millions.
What's really changed is that the $17 million spent by Begich and Sullivan is less than half of what special interest groups and political action committees have invested to bash Begich or sully Sullivan.
The total not controlled by the candidates topped $40 million Friday, with about $3 million reported in the past week.
This year, for the first time in a major Alaska election, most of the financial firepower has come from outside groups, which are prohibited from officially working directly with the campaigns.
It doesn't take a political scientist to determine how to unofficially craft a message that ties in exactly with a campaign -- anyone with a TV and a computer can do that. But there is a shift in the power structure when final decisions on how best to attack or defend fall to political action committees that may not be here tomorrow to back up what they say today.
Candidates portray themselves as positive thinkers, but attack ads work and there have been plenty from the candidates and the outside groups. The $40 million has included $13.7 million in spending against Begich and $16.3 million against Sullivan. There was $6.8 million in favor of Begich and $3.6 million in favor of Sullivan.
One of the key factors in Murkowski's write-in victory over Miller and McAdams was the $1.7 million raised by a coalition of Alaska Native Corporations, money over which the candidate had no control.
That turned out to be the vanguard of a new era in Alaska politics, made possible by Supreme Court rulings in Citizens United and other cases.
There must be a diminishing return after months of repeated exposure to poison pen missives about Obamacare and Harry Reid, the Koch Brothers and federal overreach.
No complicated problem has ever been conveyed in 30 seconds, but I suspect that the deluge of derogatory remarks has prompted more and more Alaskans to look to Netflix as an escape or tune out altogether.
The broadcast arteries are clogged and the mailboxes are refilled daily with pieces of paper that only a politician would describe as "literature."
Only six 2014 Senate races have seen more total spending than Alaska -- North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Georgia and Arkansas, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan monitoring group.
More than three-quarters of the $40 million has come from 10 groups, which in turn are financed by a wide variety of organizations, many of which are not interested in Alaska as much as in which party has the majority in the U.S. Senate.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the top 10 and their spending totals in Alaska are:
Put Alaska First super PAC: $9.3 million against Sullivan. $360,000 in support of Begich. It has received $8.8 million from the Senate Majority Political Action Committee, the top Democratic super PAC.
National Republican Senatorial Committee: $4.6 million against Begich. It has spent more only in North Carolina, Iowa and Colorado.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: $4.6 million against Sullivan. It has spent more only in North Carolina, Iowa, Colorado and Arkansas.
American Crossroads: $4.1 million against Begich. $326,000 backing Sullivan. Organized by Karl Rove, the group has spent more on the Alaska race than any other Senate contest.
Crossroad GPS: $3.1 million against Begich. Another group backed by Rove. It has spent more only in Colorado, $8 million, and North Carolina, $3.7 million. It does not disclose its donors.
Alaska Salmon PAC: $1.4 million supporting Begich. $459,000 opposing Sullivan. It is funded largely by the League of Conservation Voters, a group that does not disclose its donors.
National Association of Realtors: $1.4 million backing Begich. It spent more only on behalf of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, $1.9 million. It doesn't disclose its donors.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce: $663,334 backing Sullivan and $662,500 opposing Begich. It does not disclose its donors.
Freedom Partners Action Fund: $628,685 supporting Sullivan and $652,100 fighting Begich. It spent $612,533 of the money supporting Sullivan on TV ads bought on Oct. 23. The Koch Brothers gave $4 million to the group, which has collected more than $21 million.
Alaska's Energy/America's Values: $873,050 to back Sullivan and oppose Begich. The owner of the Houston Texans gave $500,000 to the group, while Sullivan's relatives are also major supporters.
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