In the day before the election, more than $3.5 million was spent supporting GOP nominee Mitt Romney or opposing President Barack Obama while $34,000 was spent in support of the president, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

While Romney has enjoyed greater support with outside groups, the president’s campaign has raised more money, which has kept the two candidates about even in total ad spending.

Reports filed Monday show that in addition to the spending on the presidential race, groups also spent $800,000 to influence votes for U.S. Senate and House races.

Americans for Responsible Leadership, a conservative nonprofit, spent more than any other outside group yesterday with $2.7 million, most of it supporting Romney. The Arizona-based group did not become active in the election until mid-October.

Because it is a nonprofit, it is not required to disclose its donors; however, a court battle in California — the group has also been spending big on state-level ballot measures —culminated yesterday with the group disclosing its donors, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The disclosure wasn’t particularly illuminating — the nonprofit group’s donors were other nonprofits, which also keep their donors secret.

Americans for Job Security, for example, passed money to the Center to Protect Patients’ Rights, another nonprofit, which gave money to Americans for Responsible Leadership, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The original donors to Americans for Job Security are unknown.

In the final weekend before Election Day, President Barack Obama was hit with more than $37 million in attack ads; Romney faced less than $1 million in attacks, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Outside spenders dropped roughly $56.3 million on the presidential election in recent days, according to reports filed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. More than two-thirds of the ads are negative, a Center for Public Integrity analysis shows.

On all federal races, outside groups reported over the weekend spending roughly $73.3 million.

The biggest outside spender, not counting party committees and traditional political action committees, was the conservative super PAC American Crossroads, co-founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove. It reported spending nearly $23 million, almost entirely opposing Obama.

In a distant second was American Future Fund, a conservative nonprofit, which reported spending $7.9 million, most of it supporting Romney. Two new anti-Obama ads, “Fed Up” and “Delphi” debuted Friday.

The primary pro-Romney super PAC, Restore Our Future, reported spending $4.4 million opposing Obama. It released the ad “Flatline” on Friday.

With President Barack Obama earning high marks on his response to Hurricane Sandy, conservative outside spending groups and Republicans are seeking to contrast it with charges that he dropped the ball in Benghazi.

Americans for Limited Government’s “Obama Campaign Has Its ‘Perfect Storm’” and Campaign for American Values PAC’s “Obama Has Left Americans Behind” follow the line of attack launched by Michael Brown, the director of FEMA under George W. Bush, who was widely criticized for botching the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

While the new ads do not go quite as far as Brown, who charged the president with acting too quickly on the response to Sandy, they do capitalize on his juxtaposition of the president’s response to Sandy and his response to the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Libya.

Obama was “openly working with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during hurricane recovery,” the ALG ad begins. Christie, a Republican with presidential aspirations, heaped praise on the president for his response, which was seen as a hit to GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

“Obama didn’t react to terrorist attacks in Libya the same way he reacted to Sandy,” cursive text on the screen continues. “The Obama admin. [sic] tried to blame the attack on a movie released on YouTube. Maybe they can try to blame Hurricane Sandy on one of those Al Gore movies.”

A movie poster from “The Day After Tomorrow,” a high-budget, special-effects driven disaster film from 2004, is shown in the background.

A super PAC founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg reported spending $4.9 million on both Republicans and Democrats in Florida, Illinois and California, according to Federal Election Commission records filed Wednesday.

Independence USA PAC was formed Oct. 18, and voters won't know who its donors are until after the election. The group has spent $6 million so far this election.

The super PAC spent $2.5 million supporting the U.S. House run of California state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, a Democrat; $1.8 million supporting the House run of former Orlando Chief of Police Val Demings, a Democrat; and $909,000 supporting Rep. Bob Dold, R-Ill., among other candidates.

The billionaire media mogul, now an independent, was a lifelong Democrat who switched to the GOP when he first ran for mayor.

He has pledged his super PAC will spend between $10 million and $15 million supporting state, local and congressional candidates who value bipartisanship and Bloomberg’s agenda, which includes supporting same-sex marriage, an overhaul of public schools, and his signature cause, gun control.

While Independence USA hasn't reported its donors, records show that a politically active nonprofit, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is primarily supported by the mayor.

While Bloomberg has become increasingly involved in national politics this election, he had repeatedly declined to discuss the presidential election. He has expressed disappointment with both candidates. Today, he endorsed President Barack Obama.

Outside spenders are getting in the holiday spirit with Halloween-themed ads designed to scare voters away from the targeted candidates.

A foggy cemetery, a haunted house and shadowy figures loom in House Majority PAC’s ad, as the narrator speaks in a quivering voice pretending to be a ghost, explaining why voters should be afraid of Rep. Francisco “Quico” Canseco, the Republican candidate running in Texas’ 23rd District.

The narrator suddenly cuts the ghost voice and says, “This isn’t a Halloween story, though it is scary. It’s Quico Canseco’s — a person and a story that fits right into Washington.”

One of the ads main claims — that Canseco owes hundreds of thousands in liens over unpaid payroll taxes and contracting fees — was reported by the San Antonio Express-News in July 2010.

Canseco disputes the claim. He said the bulk of what is owed is a result of disagreements between contractors and tenants on properties he owns and that he was only named because he is the landlord.

Canseco faces Democratic challenger Pete Gallego, a Texas state representative. House Majority PAC’s Halloween ad is part of a $415,000 buy in Texas’ 23rd District, a Republican-leaning swing district.

The race has seen $6.6 million in outside spending, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Conservative spenders are also using the holiday to their advantage.

Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee was hit for the second time in as many weeks over an alleged affair he had with a patient, whom he reportedly pressured to have an abortion.

The second ad from the Democratic House Majority PAC, brings the super PAC’s buys in the race to $280,000, according to a press release.

The new ad, “Quotes,” features the narrator quoting from the Chattanooga Times Free Press’ endorsement of his Democratic opponent, Tennessee state Sen. Eric Stewart.

“DesJarlais is not only a hypocrite, but a fraud,” the editorial reads, citing that he claims to be an anti-abortion advocate yet allegedly encouraged his pregnant mistress a decade ago to undergo the procedure.

So far, House Majority PAC is the only outside spender in this race to invest significant funds. “Trust,” House Majority PAC’s first ad opposing DesJarlais, debuted Oct. 19 and cost $100,000, according to a press release.

The super PAC’s top donor is Newsweb CEO Fred Eychaner who has contributed $3.8 million. Eychaner has given $12 million to Democratic super PACs.

After Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, cancelled more than $800,000 in network television advertising last week, the conservative Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC stepped in to fill the void.

Renacci, a Republican just finishing his freshman term, faces Rep. Betty Sutton, a three-term Democrat, in Ohio’s newly redrawn 16th District, which has attracted more outside spending than any other House race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics — more than $8.8 million.

Chevron Corp., ranked No. 3 on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. companies, made a $2.5 million contribution on Oct. 7 to the Leadership Fund, which is dedicated to electing Republicans to the House and Senate, as The Center for Public Integrity reported last week.

Renacci said the market had reached saturation and people were simply tuning out the ads. The New York Times reported that next to Las Vegas, the Cleveland area has seen more political ads than any other market.

This weekend’s “Hall of Fame,” the Leadership Fund’s newest anti-Sutton ad, is the second in a $1.8 million buy, according to a press release.

The dearth of large contributions being made by big corporations to super PACs so far this election has ended.

Chevron Corp., ranked No. 3 on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. companies, made a $2.5 million contribution on Oct. 7 to the conservative Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the House and Senate.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010, which allowed corporate money to be spent on elections, there were predictions that companies would tap their treasuries and flood races with unlimited cash.

Instead, the bulk of the giving has come from individuals — like casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Adelson and wife Miriam gave at least $14.5 million in the first 17 days of October, boosting his total giving to the controversial political organizations to a remarkable $53 million. It would take 10,600 contributions of $5,000, the maxiumum allowed to candidates, for Adleson to reach that amount were he giving directly to campaigns.

Super PACs filed their final reports before the Nov. 6 election on Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. Adelson is far and away the biggest donor to the organizations this election cycle.

Chevron, the No. 2 oil and gas company in the U.S. with 2011 revenue of nearly a quarter-trillion dollars, is active in nearly every aspect of the energy business, including the highly controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” a means of extracting natural gas from shale deposits.

Big outside money is pouring into the race for U.S. Senate in Virginia, and for one super PAC, “outside” means from across the country.

Independence Virginia, a super PAC supporting former U.S. Senator and Gov. George Allen, the Republican candidate, reported Wednesday spending $1.5 million on ads opposing the Democratic candidate, former Gov. Tim Kaine.

Two weeks ago, casino magnate and super donor Sheldon Adelson, who lives in Las Vegas, gave Independence Virginia $1.5 million, according to the super PAC’s most recent donor disclosure report to the Federal Election Commission.

Adelson and has family have topped $40 million in giving to conservative super PACs this election, making them No. 1.

But Adelson’s Las Vegas money isn’t the only contribution to have traveled a long way to Virginia. Texas homebuilder Bob Perry, another top super PAC donor, gave $1 million to Independence Virginia in August and September, which was just disclosed last week.

Perry, who has given $20.5 million to conservative super PACs this election, is the third-biggest super PAC donor.

Wyoming investor Foster Friess, another prolific donor gave the group $10,000.

Independence Virginia has spent $3.9 million this election, entirely on anti-Kaine ads.