Two representatives who lost contentious election races used up almost all their official budgets, ending the year with less than one percent left unspent even before the typical spending that gets accounted for only after year's end.
Former Reps. Mike Capuano (D-Mass.) and Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) spent 99.3 percent and 99.1 percent of their budgets. Both faced highly competitive elections that culminated in Capuano's failed re-election and Renacci losing his Senate bid. Reps. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) and Don Young (R-Alaska) rounded out the rest of the year's top spenders.
On average, members ended 2018 with 88.9 percent of their member representational allowances accounted for, according to a LegiStorm's compilation of member expenses. There was a slight partisan difference in spending, with Democrats spending about 1.5% more of their budgets than Republicans.
Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) disclosed the House’s smallest expenditures, with only 60.7 percent spent. His office was also the smallest spender of 2017, including 7.4 percent of his total budget that was not reported as spent until the next year. The other lowest spenders include Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) and Daniel Webster (R-Fla.).
Some members of Congress, like Webster, take pride in being near the bottom in spending each year. Unspent funds get returned to the U.S. Treasury.
