Still, the most contentious and costliest races involve contests for State Senate seats.

The race was one of the costliest legislative races in the state.

While Bira maintained a respectable results tally in British events, the more costly international races were largely a disaster.

And four years ago, Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania was in a costly, high-profile race.

Republican leaders will have to decide whether to commit large resources to try to defeat him, or focus on other, less costly races.

"This is going to be a very costly race," said Norman Adler, a political consultant who is not working for any of the candidates.

In an interview, Mr. Rendell blamed television stations for the costlier races.

The candidates spent more than $3 million in the costliest race in the city's history.

Many consulting firms are running a costly race in trying to expand across the globe.

The rematch has the earmarks of another costly race.