Money is supposed to be the mother's milk of politics, but on primary election day it turned sour for some big spenders.

Many of the best financed candidates in Tuesday's races lost, defying the conventional wisdom that money can buy elections.

Political observers said campaign organizations, personality and issues trumped cash and advertising when it came to attracting voters.

This was especially true for candidates who spent large amounts of their own money on their campaigns.

Chris Gabrieli spent a reported $8.5 million of his own money, but came in a distant second to Deval Patrick in the Democratic primary for governor. At last count, Deb Goldberg used more than $2 million of her family money trying to get elected lieutenant governor, but lost to Worcester Mayor Tim Murray.

Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh did not have a personal fortune to lavish on his re-election effort, but he outspent his opponent, Sam Sutter, by something like a 7-1 margin -- and lost.

The lesson of Tuesday's results, some said, is that money is a great help in politics, but it can only take you so far, especially in relatively low turnout primary elections.

George Serra, chairman of the political science department at Bridgewater State College, said Patrick's widespread organization outweighed Gabrieli's money.

`` What you witnessed was the power of a grass-roots movement,'' he said.

Serra said Patrick had an extensive get-out-the-vote operation that the other candidates could not match.

Gabrieli entered the election late and never built an organization. He relied heavily on television advertising.

But, advertising is less effective in primary elections because a high percentage of the voters are party activists who often judge candidates by meeting them in person.

The vast majority of people who viewed the television ads never voted.

In the Attleboro area, for example, Patrick made several visits, making friends and winning over campaign volunteers. Gabrieli and Attorney General Tom Reilly were seen very little by the local activists.

Paul Grady, chairman of the Attleboro Democratic City Committee, said he has never seen a campaign with a grassroots organization as strong as Patrick's.

Grady said he and other activists received daily e-mails from the campaign, which increased to several per day just before primary day.

Every state Senate district had a Deval Patrick campaign coordinator, and every community had one or two local captains, he said.

They were responsible for sending out postcards, making telephone calls and driving voters to the polls for Patrick.

`` Deval's campaign was based on knocking on doors and talking to neighbors,'' he said.

Grady also said that many of the volunteers for Patrick are young people who are technology savvy but had never been politically involved before.

In the lieutenant governor's primary, Murray had an organizational advantage over his opponents because he is the mayor of the state's second largest city.

Goldberg ran the most television ads, but Murray was able to run up a big vote advantage in his base of Worcester County.

The district attorney's race was another example of a well-financed candidate falling by the wayside.

Incumbent Walsh advertised extensively on cable television, in newspapers and with direct-mail pieces, but lost.

Walsh's advertising was unable to overcome the perception in the southern end of the county that crime was growing out of control, and he had been in office too long.

With little money to spend, Sutter relied on free media to spread his message by staging endorsement ceremonies with local police unions that attracted newspaper coverage.

State Rep. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, said the primary results were refreshing, in that people get turned off by the idea that elections can be bought.

He said he would hate to think that running for higher office such as governor has become `` a rich man's game'' open only to millionaires.

`` I don't think a race should be about who has the most money,'' he said.

rdrtrdrsrdrw15rsp160 JIM HAND can be reached at 508-236-0399 or at jhand(at)thesunchronicle.com.