Our colleagues at The Iowa Independent have been all over the race for a state legislative seat that the National Organization for Marriage, the headline-grabbing anti-gay marriage group, had tried to turn into a referendum on the state’s legalization of same-sex unions. It was a squeaker, but Democrat Curt Hanson beat Republican Stephen Burgmeier by 107 votes.

The National Organization for Marriage bought more than $80,000 in ads to support Burgmeier, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage rights. Two other groups — Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Family Policy Center — seemed to play a central role in the Republican’s campaign, which spent more time criticizing Gov. Chet Culver and Democratic bigwigs than talking about Hanson.

Only 8,046 people voted in the election, which means NOM spent roughly $10 per voter on this ad:

NOM is claiming victory anyway for “making gay marriage an issue.”