(Via the David Trone campaign)

David Trone only accepted donations of $10 or less, his website reads, “because the only special interests he cares about are yours,” with the notable exception of his own eye-popping contribution. It turns out, though, that even $12.5 million couldn’t buy the Democratic nomination for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District.

Trone vastly outspent the winner, State Sen. Jamie Raskin (who raised $1.8 million), and third-place finisher Kathleen Matthews ($2 million), in a quest to replace the outgoing Rep. Chris Van Hollen (he won his own race for the nomination to succeed Sen. Barbara Mikulski). Six other candidates also threw their names in the hat to represent the wealthy, deeply Democratic D.C. suburbs.

Trone’s exorbitant spending won him 31,259 votes, which breaks down to $396 per vote, according to Politico’s Kevin Robillard

“It’s going to be a very expensive race,” Trone told the Post earlier this year about his spending. “Whatever it is will be too much.”

But at least the Potomac resident—who now has the dubious distinction of being the biggest self-funded House candidate ever, according to the Post—can forget his thwarted investment in a bottle or two. He is still, after all, the owner of a large chain of wine stores.