GOP Cost-Per-Delegate Madness: Ron Paul Spent $496K each!

By Major Garrett // March 30, 2012 | 3:41 p.m.

Ron Paul, At the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Washington Marriott at Wardman Park on Friday, February 11, 2011. (Chet Susslin)

In honor of budget week and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., endorsing GOP front-runner Mitt Romney, I decided to run some numbers. Not budget numbers, everyone has done that this week. These are numbers onwhat's been spent for the two most important commodities in a nominating contest: votes and delegates.

And if Supreme Court justices can be cheeky and snarky in oral arguments, why can't I be a bit cheeky at this stage of the GOP primary? Whether the race is nearly over or not is a choice for voters and candidates to make. But what's been spent by whom and for what tells us something about the four remaining campaigns - where they are, where they have been and how they have fared.

That eye-popping headline is right. Texas Rep. Ron Paul has spent $496,461 per delegate. He's spent $30.35 per vote. He's the most profligate candidate in the race when it comes to return-on-investment (ROI to Romney).