Carter Kessler, the longshot Republican candidate for an Athens state House seat, has been blanketing the district with mailers, and now we know how he affords them. He's spent almost $100,000 on the race—nearly all of it his own money.

In campaign finance documents filed last week with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, Kessler reported raising $92,704 for his campaign. $91,000 of that total was personal loans to his campaign. He spent $84,083, mainly on consultants and advertising.

Spencer Frye, the Democrat who ousted Rep. Keith Heard, D-Athens, in the July primary, reported raising $38,507 and spending $31,061, mostly for his race against Heard. Given that the district is roughly three-quarters Democrat, Frye probably doesn't have much to worry about, but the Ron Paul acolyte Kessler is outspending him in spite of two DUI convictions that have left him unable to drive and lackluster support among the local GOP establishment. Kessler said he knew establishment Republicans wouldn't support him, so he is funding his campaign with money from his grandfather.

Reports also show that state Rep. Doug McKillip, R-Athens, spent more than a quarter of a million dollars in his failed effort to keep his House seat. He spent $255,791 to Republican challenger Regina Quick's $68,350. Much of McKillip's money came from fellow House Republicans; he also received checks from Caterpillar, liberal bogeymen Koch Industries and Michael Morris, president of the anti-abortion group Athens Area Right to Life, among others.

Quick's bipartisan group of contributors—many Democrats backed her because McKillip switched parties and no Democrat ran—included Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Atlanta, and House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, R-Alpharetta. Jones, who wrote a $2,500 check to Quick after the primary, had co-headlined a fundraiser for McKillip with Speaker David Ralston in July.