The final campaign filings are in, and we can now put a price tag on the 2012 elections: $7 billion. That's how much candidates, parties, PACs, super-PACs, and politically active nonprofits spent last year to influence races. Candidates spent the bulk of the 2012 total, at $3.2 billion. Parties spent $2 billion and outside groups $2.1 billion. The FEC's $7 billion figure is about a billion dollars more than what transparency groups had projected for last years election. It's the most money ever spent during one election cycle in US history.