While us campaign finance sickos breathlessly await the August 1 filing deadline, we can occupy a bit of our time by tracking the mass media buys reported since July 1. There are quite a few, in fact.

Explainer for those who need it: Whenever a candidate spends $500 or more on mass media (radio, TV, digital ads, printing, mailing, etc.), they must report it to the Secretary of State’s office within a couple of days, a rule often honored more in the breach than the observance.

Can you guess where the most money was spent on mass media this month? That’s right, it’s the Democratic race for lieutenant governor by a country mile. Ryan Mclaren, last seen trailing badly in the polls, poured $125,100 into TV ad buys conducted by Georgia-based Canal Partners Media. Apparent front-runner Molly Gray has spent $112,918 on TV ad buys done by Virginia-based Screen Strategies Media and another $26,537 on postcard mailings by Berlin Rosen LLC of New York for a grand total of $168,135.

Couldn’t help noticing as I scanned all these reports that virtually all statewide candidates and some legislative hopefuls are contracting their printing and media buys out of state. I guess the big firms know what they’re doing, but home cooking seems to be a thing of the past.

Anyway, McLaren and Gray have combined to spend almost $300,000 on a non-gubernatorial primary election. That’s got to be an all-time record. If it’s not, make sure to let me know in the Comments.

Whatever, it’s a fuck-ton of money for a bucket of warm piss, and a further indication that incumbent Republican John Rodgers is extremely vulnerable; both Democrats must feel like the primary is their biggest hurdle.

A relative pittance has been spent this month by the three major candidates for governor. Democrat Aly Richards sent $35,000 to Chicago-based Thematic for TV ad buys. Fellow Dem Amanda Janoo did not report any mass media activity, nor did incumbent Republican Phil Scott.

That’s it for the statewide races. What, did you think H. Brooke Paige was going to stiff his haberdasher just so he could litter the airwaves for an uncontested primary?

Side note. Some of these expenditures came late in the month. McLaren’s latest ad buy, worth $40,500, was reported on July 27. That’s a mere two weeks from primary day. Thousands of ballots have already been cast. Is it too late? I’d say so, at least in part. Have campaigns completely adjusted to the brave new world where advance voting is available to all? I’d say not completely. I realize there’s an advantage in advertising when elections are nigh and voters’ minds are engaged, but candidates who spend big less than two weeks before an election are not getting the fullest bang for their buck.

I’d also suggest, as I have before, that out-of-state consultancies are a mixed blessing at best. They have the expertise (good campaign managers are thin on the ground in Vermont), but they charge high fees and know how to milk candidates for every dollar they can get.

There was one county campaign that saw big money going out the door in July: the Democratic primary for Chittenden County state’s attorney. Challenger and heir to the Ted Kenney throne Bram Kranichfeld spent $10,751 for postcards and mailing (Paw Print of Burlington), $10,000 for ads on WCAX-TV, another $10,000 to Chicago-based 76WORDS for TV ad buys, and $2,929 for ads on Front Porch Forum. Incumbent Sarah Fair George, meanwhile, was content to shell out $635 for advertising in Seven Days. You think she’s unbothered by a second consecutive primary challenge? I think so.

A few senatorial notes of interest. The very deep-pocketed Democrat in the wild Chittenden Central primary, Nikhil Goyal ($138,000 raised as of July 1) paid $21,139 to out-of-state consultancy Moxie Media for “Mailing Service,” and $1,540 to Burlington Community Newspaper for advertising. Not all that much considering, but then, what was he going to do? Splurge on TV ads that would largely be seen by people who couldn’t vote for him?

The other non-incumbent in the primary, Elaine Haney, spent $7,574 on printing and mailing postcards and $1,130 on ads in Seven Days.

The non-incumbent in the Chittenden Southeast district, Joanna Grossman, spent $8,555 at Paw Print for postcards and $2,103 with the Burlington Area Newspaper Group for print ads.

Converted Vermonter and Wall Street attorney Ben Brickner, one of three Democrats angling for an open seat in the Windsor district, spent a total of $9,372 with Connecticut-based Bridge Communications for postcards. And Rep. Monique Priestley, trying to move up to the Senate in the Orange district, spent close to $6,000 on postcard printing and mailing.

That’s all the items that caught my eye. We now light a candle and wait for August 1 filings.