“As the race between incumbent Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack and Democrat Rick Nolan heads into its final days, the amount of outside campaign money being spent in the 8th District has continued its upward trajectory — with nearly $3 million spent in the last two weeks alone.

“The combined $8.6 million spent in outside money from SuperPACs and other groups is the third-largest amount spent on a congressional race in the country, according to Federal Election Commission reports,” via Duluth News Tribune.

“Accelerating spending by outside groups in the final weeks of the 2012 campaign will drive total spending on federal elections this cycle to a record $6 billion, according to a new analysis by the nonpartisan research group Center for Responsive Politics,” reports the LA Times.