A Wall Street Journal analysis of campaign spending shows that Republican groups prevailed in nearly 75% of the House races in which they significantly out-spent Democratic organizations.
The analysis also shows that Republicans won 53 House seats in races where the Republican groups spent at least $200,000 more than rival Democratic organizations. Republicans, though, lost 20 races where they heavily outspent Democratic groups.
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Among Republican groups, the two advised by Mr. Rove—American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS—spent a total of $71 million on the election, making them the top supporters of Republicans this election.
Mr. Rove's groups, which were founded earlier this year, surpassed the election-spending of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's leading business lobby.
The Chamber said earlier this year that it planned to spend $75 million on the elections. Instead it spent about $50 million. Officials said they fell short partly because Mr. Rove's groups siphoned off some donations it expected to receive.
But there are limits to the power of money:
Republican Meg Whitman, the former eBay Inc. chief executive, spent $140 million of her own cash in a bid to be California's governor, equivalent to about $45 a vote. She lost by 12 points to Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown.
