A Lot of Money, and We're Only Halfway In

In Ric Anderson's column in the Topeka Capital Journal today:

3 With the amount of campaign money that Kansans seeking seats in the U.S. Senate and the House 2nd and 3rd districts had on hand during the first quarter of this year, which of the following could be provided?

A) Salaries for 150 public school teachers

B) One semester of in-state tuition for more than 2,200 students at Washburn University

C) Either

Correct answer: C. The seven congressional candidates had about $6.2 million on hand between them.

The average salary for a Kansas teacher is $41,369, according the National Education Association.

Washburn charges $185 per credit hour in tuition for in-state students, which adds up to $2,775 for a 15-hour semester.

The cash on hand figures are as follows: U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., $3 million; Jim Slattery, Roberts' Democrat challenger, $288,000; Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., $812,000; former Congressman Jim Ryun, who is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Boyda, $461,000; Kansas Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, who also is competing for the Republican nomination, $486,000; Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., $889,000; state Sen. Nick Jordan, Moore's Republican challenger, $307,000.

Holy cripes, folks...and those numbers are only going to get bigger and bigger and bigger...