When polls showed a surge of support for Nutter late in the campaign, it quickly translated into a surge in his mayoral bank account.
Between May 1 and June 4, Nutter raised $1.2 million - more than double the contributions received in the same period by the mayoral campaigns of U.S. Reps. Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah and State Rep. Dwight Evans.
But Knox still exceeded Nutter in those final weeks, pulling in $2.7 million - all but $100,000 from his own pocket.
In fact, Knox spent more money after May 1 - $3.5 million - than the amounts that Fattah, Evans or Brady raised throughout their campaigns.
Still, absent the Knox factor, Philadelphia's new cap on campaign contributions would have caused something unusual in politics: a decrease in the cash flowing into campaigns.
Altogether, the five Democrats spent a record $24 million. But if Knox had not dipped into his personal wealth to finance his campaign, the total would likely have been less than the $15 million spent in the 1999 mayoral primary, which also had five Democrats.
Fattah, who raised and spent the least money, ended the race - he came in fourth - nearly $600,000 in debt.
He owes money to, among others, his campaign strategist ($130,000); Montgomery McCracken, the law firm that represented him in a lawsuit to toss out the city's campaign caps ($70,000); the campaign's direct-mail vendor ($118,000); and the Sheraton Center City Hotel, where he held his election-night gathering ($13,000).
Among the many last-minute contributions was a donation to Brady from State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D., Phila.), who had played a role in persuading Brady to run. A day before the May 15 primary, Fumo dug into his Senate campaign committee to give Brady an in-kind donation of $20,000 for printing work.
