Johnson, Feingold spending hit $27 million

MILWAUKEE (AP) - New campaign filings show the U.S. Senate race between Russ Feingold and Ron Johnson blew away all previous records for federal campaigns in Wisconsin with the two candidates together spending about $27 million in 2010.

The race's winner, Johnson, spent about $14 million on his Republican campaign after jumping into the race about May. Democratic incumbent Feingold spent about $13 million over the election year.

Outside spending was dwarfed by the candidates' spending. The Sunlight Foundation says contributions by independent groups totaled about $3 million, with the most amount spent on the Republican side.

The Journal Sentinel says the $27 million spent on this race is well above the total from 2004, when Feingold and Republican opponent Tim Michels together spent about $15 million over a two-year period.