State Sen. David Ige loaned his campaign $50,000 about a week before his Democratic primary victory over Gov. Neil Abercrombie to keep campaign advertisements on television.

Ige has stressed the grassroots nature of his historic upset over Abercrombie, but the personal loan in early August shows that money was a tactical concern for the campaign in the days before the vote.

Ige spent just $584,488 on the primary, state campaign-finance reports filed Friday show, or roughly $3.72 per vote. Abercrombie spent more than $5.5 million — or about $75.79 per vote — in his stunning loss.

“We knew that we wouldn’t be able to raise as much money as our opponent,” Ige said.