In the crowded field of candidates committed to or flirting with a run for mayor of Chicago, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias again dominated fundraising to start the year.

Giannoulias raised more than $12 million in the first quarter of 2026, according to state campaign finance records, a sum far larger than the combined total for seven other likely candidates. The money, much of it from trades labor unions and some of Chicago’s wealthiest residents, would give Giannoulias an instant advantage if he enters the race.

He said in a statement that he was “honored” by those who “have encouraged me to run for other offices, including mayor of Chicago.” He has not yet declared he is running, and his political team did not answer questions about the fundraising.

Five other candidates running or weighing campaigns as less progressive counterparts to Mayor Brandon Johnson raised more than $100,000, evidence that February 2027’s election will likely again feature a crowded field.

Johnson, currently poised to become the race’s only progressive when he declares, raised more than $176,000. That’s far below what former mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel brought in during the same quarter of their first terms, but Johnson’s political director, Christian Perry, said Johnson will have enough money to compete “if and when” he officially enters the race.

“We are doing what every good campaign should be doing for an incumbent, which is maintaining activity,” Perry said. “This will be a campaign that’s powered by working-class, blue-collar voters in the city of Chicago who want to see their interests represented on the Fifth Floor.”

At the same point in their first terms, Lightfoot raised $737,010, while Emanuel raised $1.4 million. Lightfoot had $1.7 million available, while Emanuel had $7.4 million available, both far exceeding the $813,125 Johnson has on hand in his campaign fund.

Downtown Ald. Bill Conway, a potential candidate, raised more than $100,000 during the quarter, while entrepreneur Joe Holberg brought in $285,171, $250,000 of which came from a loan he made to his campaign.

Veteran lobbyist John Kelly raised $366,526, $250,000 of which came from law firms Kelley Ferraro LLC and The Ferraro Law Firm. State comptroller Susana Mendoza, who is also mulling a run, raised $125,767, including sums from several trade unions.

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas raised only $5,000, while U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley brought in $212,550, including $7,300 each from former Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney and billionaire Steve Crown.

And all of that money pales compared to the heaping, growing pile that Giannoulias is sitting on.

The secretary of state’s war chest grew to $18.3 million in the last three months. He spent only $85,154 during the quarter, even as he successfully ran a primary campaign for his current statewide seat.

Four political committees tied to chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council contributed $4 million in total to Giannoulias. The move shows he has a strong hold on the wallets of many trade unions — sure to be a key source of cash for would-be moderate candidates.

He also received $500,000 apiece from Matthew Pritzker, an investor and heir; ML Development Group, a construction firm; and Michael Sacks, an investor and Democratic megadonor. Developer Elzie Higginbottom contributed $50,000, former mayoral candidate Bill Daley gave $2,500 and 18 people contributed $100,000 or more.

The long list of individuals contributing large sums is yet another indicator of strength for a potential Giannoulias campaign that shows some of Chicago’s wealthiest business leaders are at his back.

“The city is in a crisis and is facing real challenges – there’s no denying that – but I’m maniacally bullish on Chicago,” Giannoulias said in a statement. “I’ve spent my life here, and I firmly believe this city’s best days are ahead of it.”

Perry said the money brought in by some candidates is “disheartening” proof of wealth’s increasing power in politics, and argued campaigns should not be about fundraising, but about making life better for working-class people. But he added that he was not worried about the disadvantage. After all, Johnson was outspent in 2023, he argued.

He pointed to recent statewide and Chicago-area congressional campaigns in which candidates prevailed despite being outspent, including the primary victories of Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton for U.S. Senate, state Rep. La Shawn Ford for the 7th Congressional District and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss for the 9th Congressional District.

“You are seeing the political ground shift under our feet where voters are rejecting people feeling like they can buy a seat,” he said. “People aren’t loving the person that’s having the biggest purse too much right about now.”

Perry said Johnson will need roughly the amount he received in 2023, around $12 million, to be competitive, while repeating a common refrain from the mayor and his team: “Organized people will beat organized money.”

Johnson received $5,000 from a campaign fund for Emanuel “Chris” Welch, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and another $5,000 from a committee tied to the Illinois Federation of Teachers, now led by close ally and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates.

The mayor hosted an event that raised more than $100,000 for his 50th birthday last month and recently held fundraisers in Detroit and New York, Perry said.

He predicted progressive unions across the city will align behind Johnson if he runs, despite an ongoing divide between the two labor groups that played a central role in bankrolling his last bid, the Chicago Teachers Union and local chapters of the Service Employees International Union.

And the larger profile Johnson gained amid his outspoken resistance toward President Donald Trump’s aggressive use of federal immigration agents could also land the mayor new donors from around the country, Perry said.

“People are deeply encouraged and inspired by the way in which the mayor has stood up for Chicago against authoritarian overreach,” he said. “That kind of momentum, that kind of inspiration is hard to capture right now.”