That Could Buy a Lot of Pamphlets

TAKE ONE CALCULATOR, SOME POLITICAL FINANCIAL EXPERTS and the estimated campaign budgets needed to elect California's statewide candidates this year, and what do you get? The costliest state election year in U.S. history -- about $100 million. Several factors converged to make it so: two state senate races going full blast, a reapportionment that added seven new congressional seats, and the highest expense of all, TV time. Television has become an absolute necessity for statewide election, since it's the only way to reach huge numbers of voters quickly. "We are putting our elected officials into hock the day they are sworn in," says veteran political consultant Joseph Cerrell. He also notes that a 1954 state assembly campaign cost just $6,000. But then, not too many people had TV in 1954.