The Center for Responsive Politics said that an 'extraordinary influx' of political donations in the final months -- driven by a Supreme Court battle and closely watched races for the White House and Senate -- pushed total spending in the election past the previously estimated 11 billion dollars figure.
The two company spent about over Rs 3.15 crore.
Financier Bernard Madoff, in jail now, had shelled out nearly $ 1 million towards lobbying and in campaign contributions, of which a large part went to the Democrats, a US research group has said.
The Indian-American Democrat edged out his competition Republic Doug Ose by a narrow margin of 1,432 votes to represent California's 7th Congressional District, reports Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.