Heading towards the March 19 Illinois primary, House incumbents have a fundraising advantage over rivals, new FEC reports show.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The latest Federal Election Commission disclosure reports show that heading into the March 19 Illinois primary, U.S. House incumbents in the most contested races — Danny Davis, Sean Casten, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Bill Foster and Mike Bost — have more cash-on-hand than their rivals.
The year-end FEC reports, due Jan. 31, cover fundraising for 2023.
Once again — and this has been the case for years — the champion fundraiser among House members from Illinois is U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who collected $5,529,137 in 2023 and who has a balance of $15,360,692. He’s one of the top fundraisers in the entire Congress. As I’ve reported previously, Krishnamoorthi is stockpiling cash for a potential Senate run. Krishnamoorthi faces no primary Democratic opponent in his northwest suburban 8th Congressional District.
The Illinois House Republican with the biggest political war chest is U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., with $4,876,463 cash-on-hand. LaHood has no primary opponent and no Democrat filed to run against him in this heavily Republican central Illinois district.
Here’s an overview of districts with the biggest primaries, with fundraising a key indicator of the strength of a campaign.
4th Congressional District — Democrats
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, one of the most far-left members of the House, is being challenged by Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) one of the police union’s staunchest City Council supporters, and a regular guest on Fox News. The district is designed, under civil rights voting laws, to yield the election of a Hispanic lawmaker. The district includes parts of 13 Chicago wards as well as portions of 30 suburbs, including Cicero and Berwyn as well as Stickney, Lyons, Summit, Melrose Park, Franklin Park and parts of Oakbrook, La Grange, Riverside and Brookfield.
Garcia
Contributions: $336,637
Operating expenses: $227,532
Cash-on-hand: $202,798.42
Lopez
Contributions: $46,343
Operating expenses $14,920
Cash-on-hand: $31,422
6th Congressional District — Democrats
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten has an overwhelming fundraising lead over Mahnoor Ahmad, a digital strategist and Charles Hughes, an operation tech with Nicor in this west suburban district. Hughes did not have a year end FEC report filed as of Thursday.
Casten
Contributions: $1,437,788
Operating expenses: $627,749
Cash-on-hand: $1,041,501
Ahmad
Contributions: $5,875
Operating expenses: $1,728
Cash-on-hand: $4,146
7th Congressional District — Democrats
The main challenger to Rep. Danny Davis is City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. While Davis has more cash-on-hand, Conyears-Ervin raised more than Davis last year. Kina Collins, an executive in a non-profit, is making her third try to oust Davis. There are several others in the race, none with substantial fundraising numbers. Collins so far has not gotten the robust fundraising help from progressive groups that boosted her in 2022. The district is drawn, under civil rights laws, to increase the power of Black voters.
The Conyears-Ervin campaign on Thursday released the endorsements from Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th), Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), the Illinois Nurses Association and Chicago Firefighters Local 2.
The 7th District runs west from parts of Chicago’s downtown to the western suburbs, including Maywood and Oak Park, with a leg on the near South Side, taking in parts of Bronzeville and Washington Park. Politically, it is rooted on the West Side.
Davis
Contributions: $378,981
Operating expenses: $249,998
Cash-on-hand: $320,319
Conyears-Ervin
Contributions: $495,178 (includes $6,600 for general election)
Operating expenses: $205,007
Cash-on-hand: $291,191
Cash-on-hand for Collins is $10,327; Kouri Marshall, a former staffer in the Pritzker administration has $24,374 and Nikhil Bhatia, an educator, has a balance of $5,952.
11th Congressional District — Democrats and Republicans
Rep. Bill Foster has a massive fundraising advantage over Qasim Rashid, an attorney who previously ran for Congress in Virginia. The district sweeps in suburban and rural areas north, south and west of Chicago.
Foster
Contributions: $1,360,806
Operating expenses: $648,687
Cash-on-hand: $1,659,073
Rashid
Contributions: $624,908
Operating expenses: $385,523
Cash-on-hand: $234,580
On the GOP side, music educator Jerry Hughes has $145,173 cash-on-hand, compared to Kent Mercado, a surgeon, with a balance of $11,020 and business owner Susan Hathaway-Altman, with $21,950.
12th Congressional District — Republicans
This is the biggest GOP primary in Illinois, with U.S. Rep. Mike Bost facing former GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey in a race to the right. Both rivals back former President Donald Trump. The two men are on the March ballot twice, as both also are running to be Trump delegates from the 12th district.
However, Bost has a commanding lead when it comes to fundraising for this southern Illinois district seat.
Bost
Contributions: $1,880,891
Operating expenses: $835,497
Cash-on-hand: $1,356,767
Bailey
Contributions: $326,037
Operating expenses: $208,653
Cash-on-hand: $117,383
The 12th congressional district is heavily Republican, so the primary winner is virtually certain to clinch the seat in November. The 4th and 7th congressional districts are heavily Democratic, with the March winner all but certain to win in the general election. The 11th district is seen as not competitive for Republicans, so the Democratic nominee is the November favorite.
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February 1, 2024 at 06:45PM
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