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We introduce elements of an auction in a rent-seeking contest. Players compete for a prize. Apart from exerting lobbying efforts, they also submit a bid which is payable only if they win the prize. First, we analyze the model if the returns-to-scale parameters of both bids and efforts are unity. In that case there exists a unique Nash equilibrium in pure strategies, in which each active player submits the same bid, while the sum of all efforts equals that bid. Second, we analyze the case in which the returns-to-scale parameters differ from unity, and derive the implications of that specification