Democrats in three of the state’s most closely contested congressional races, including two first-term suburban lawmakers, have a distinct cash advantage over Republicans, federal campaign finance records show.
Records filed this week that cover April through the end of June showed Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove with nearly six times as much cash as his challenger, former Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton, while U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville reported nearly 10 times as much as her opponent, state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove.
Downstate, Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield ended the quarter with nearly $400,000 more cash available than four-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville.
In the west and northwest suburban 6th District, Casten reported raising nearly $750,000 in the quarter to go with the $2.5 million he had in the bank at the end of March. He spent $236,539 and began July with just over $3 million in cash on hand.
Ives, who gave up her state House seat and narrowly lost a bid for the 2018 Republican nomination against then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, raised more than $483,000 in the quarter to go with the $366,221 she started out with at the end of March. She spent more than $348,000 and ended June with $501,346.
Since taking office following the November 2018 election, Casten has raised just more than $4 million, Federal Election Commission records show.
In the suburban 14th Congressional District, which stretches from the far southwest suburbs and goes north and northeast to the Wisconsin state line, Underwood started April with nearly $2.3 million in the bank and raised nearly $1.3 million in the second quarter, her campaign reported. After spending nearly $353,000, she had nearly $3.2 million in cash to start July.
Oberweis, an investment adviser who runs his family’s namesake dairy and retail operation, raised nearly $251,000 in the quarter to go with the $161,208 he reported at the beginning of April. After spending $38,773, he reported $373,417 in cash on hand.
Oberweis, who has made previously unsuccessful bids for a variety of offices, including the U.S. Senate and House, has the personal finances to inject significant money into his own campaign.
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While Republicans are looking to recapture both of the suburban districts they lost two years ago, the 14th is viewed by the GOP as having more potential. While Underwood defeated Republican Rep. Randy Hultgren of Plano, the district favored President Donald Trump by 4 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The 6th Congressional District, where Casten defeated veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton in 2018, favored Clinton by 7 percentage points over Trump, representing a potentially sizable shift in political ideology in a district that once symbolized the heart of Illinois Republicanism in DuPage County.
The central Illinois 13th District race represents a rematch between Davis and Londrigan, with the Republican narrowly winning reelection by 2,058 votes in 2018. The campaign reports showed Londrigan outraising Davis in the quarter, generating more than $800,0000 to the congressman’s $510,000.
The fundraising, after expenses, left Londrigan with nearly $2.25 million in cash on hand to start July compared with more than $1.85 million for Davis.
The campaign finance reports showed that in the only statewide race on Illinois’ Nov. 3 ballot, four-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 member in the chamber’s party leadership, had $5.5 million in his campaign account to start July — far outdistancing his Republican rival, former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran.
Durbin began April with just over $5 million in cash and raised $710,437 in the quarter, while spending nearly $275,000. Curran started with less than $6,000 in the bank, raised $42,310, spent $27,891, and had $20,323 to begin July.
Chicago businessman Willie Wilson, mounting a third-party challenge to Durbin, reported nearly $45,000 in cash to start July after putting in $60,000 of his own money. Wilson, a wealthy glove and medical materials importer, has pledged to give substantial amounts to his campaign and began running cable TV ads Thursday.
Durbin, in a fundraising email on Thursday, took note of the challenge from Wilson, a former Rauner ally who twice made unsuccessful bids for Chicago mayor.
“With the announcement of a so-called independent challenger in my race dropping millions on his self-funded campaign, we must double our efforts to keep Illinois blue,” Durbin wrote.