Campaign ranks among most costly in U.S.

spending spree of almost $1 million the last week of the campaign helped make the Alabama chief justice election the second most expensive judicial race in United States history, a national watchdog group said.
Sue Bell Cobb, the winner; Drayton Nabers Jr.; and Justice Tom Parker spent $7.7 million on the primary and general election. The race was second only to a $9.3 million Illinois Supreme Court race in 2004, according to Justice at Stake, a Washington group that tracks the influence of money on judicial elections.
The final price tag for all five Alabama Supreme Court races was $12.4 million, the most among the 16 states with Supreme Court elections last year. Alabama's chief justice election was the most expensive judicial race in the nation in 2006.