RALEIGH, N.C. | Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Erskine Bowles spent $26.3 million in their bruising U.S. Senate race to succeed John Edwards, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.

The amount, which covers spending through Nov. 22, places the race won by Burr among the most expensive Senate races in the nation this year and in N.C. history.

Bowles, a Charlotte investment banker, spent $13.6 million while losing to Burr by 5 percentage points, according to his filing with the Federal Election Commission.

It was slightly more than the $13.3 million he spent during his 2002 campaign, when he lost to Elizabeth Dole by 8 percentage points.

Burr spent $12.7 million, a said campaign spokesman, citing Burr's federal report.

Bowles and Dole spent a combined $27 million in 2002 in the race to take the seat being vacated by Jesse Helms.

Raising that kind of money "seems what you need to do to run for higher office" in North Carolina, said Elon University political science professor Tim Vercellotti. "It's a bigger state. It's hard to deal a lot in retail politics although I thought we saw more of that this year."

Burr was known for his unconventional campaigning, driving around by himself in his car and greeting potential voters on Main Street. Bowles also spent weeks on a charter bus.

The two candidates also raised money to get their TV and radio commercials on the airwaves more frequently as Nov. 2 neared.

Bowles gave his campaign $3.8 million of his money, with more than half of it coming in the final weeks.

Bowles loaned his campaign $6.8 million for the 2002 race.

Burr, a five-term congressman from Winston-Salem, N.C., generated nearly $2.8 million from political committees, compared with $823,000 by Bowles, the campaigns said.

Bowles and Democrats attacked Burr during the fall campaign as one of the largest recipients of special interest money in Congress.

In contrast, Burr and national Republicans went on the airwaves reminding voters of Bowles' former job as White House chief of staff under President Clinton.

Overall, Bowles raised $13.5 million, and Burr raised $12.9 million.

Even though the candidate who spent the most money did not win the race, the high-stakes campaigning can have a chilling effect on the electorate, Vercellotti said.

"It's daunting for the average voter to have an effect," he said. "This is a big-money state now."

The 1984 Senate race between Helms and Jim Hunt remains the benchmark in state politics. The two campaigns spent $26.4 million, but that amount equals $47.7 million in today's dollars, according to data provided by professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Edwards, who did not seek a second term so he could make a presidential run, and Lauch Faircloth spent a combined $20 million in their 1998 Senate race, also in current dollars.

Bowles and Burr will file finance reports early next year covering any remaining postelection spending, but that is expected to be small.