Want to Know What Your Congressman's Seat Cost?

Alas, Mr. Smith can't go to Washington anymore -- unless he's got a buck or two of his own and knows how to harvest and bundle massive donations.

From MapLight.org comes this financial wag-the-dog tale -- the staggering cost of a seat in Congress.

An analysis of money raised by members of the 113th Congress who won election in 2012 concluded with these eye-opening stats:

• House members, on average, each raised $1,689,580, an average of $2,315 per day during the 2012 cycle.
• Senators, on average, each raised $10,476,451, an average of $14,351 per day during the 2012 cycle.

MapLight is a nonpartisan research organization that reveals moneys influence on politics in the U.S. Congress and in the California and Wisconsin Legislatures.

Read the details about MapLight's data sources and methodology. Data refers to direct contributions to the campaign committees of elected legislators. For example, contribution totals exclude contributions to party committees such as the RNC or the DNC and exclude contributions made to individuals that did not win their election.