It also banned political advertisements before an election to level the playing field for candidates who face a wealthy opponent.

Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, later dismissed the provision allowing larger contributions to candidates facing wealthy opponents as "not the critical issue here."

The City Council recently changed the campaign finance law to grant more public matching funds to candidates facing wealthy, self-financed opponents.

The amendment would use a complex formula for raising contribution limits for candidates who face wealthy opponents who pay for their own campaigns.

His wealthy Democratic opponent is expected to spend $70 million in one of the country's nastiest and most expensive elections for governor.

Mr. Trump countered that his wealthy opponents were upset merely because Trump World Tower would block their views.

Demosthenes decided to prosecute his wealthy opponent and wrote the judicial oration Against Meidias.

Mr. Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest man, was arrested last fall in what has been described as a Kremlin-backed campaign to silence a wealthy political opponent.

"And if you are talking drug traffickers, you're talking about a wealthy opponent, one that can afford the best equipment and technology."

In his last two Senate campaigns here, Mr. Durenberger easily defeated wealthy Democratic opponents who outspent him.