Dems boast millions in campaign cash, but Rauner has more

Gov. Bruce Rauner started the month with more than $ 50.3 million in his campaign war chest — more than 17 times as much as his fivemajor Democratic challengers combined.

Rauner and state Sen. Daniel Biss are the two gubernatorial candidates reporting more than a million dollars of campaign cash on hand, according to the first major campaign report filed Monday with the state’s Board of Elections.

Businessman Chris Kennedy fell just shy of that mark, with $ 907,427.61 on hand when the reporting period closed at the end of March.

And billionaire venture capitalist J. B. Pritzker beefed up his total with $ 7 million out of his own pocket after the filing period closed.

It’s all a sign of just how expensive the primary race — a long 11 months away— may become.

For Pritzker and Rauner, the vast majority of their campaign cash comes fromtheir ownpockets, signaling the increasingly important role self- financed campaigns are playing in Illinois politics.

Candidates were required to post their quarterly report to the Illinois State Board of Elections — reporting contributions from Jan. 1 to March 31 — by midnight Monday.

While not officially talking about his re- election bid, Rauner took in $ 44,630.01 in contributions, with $ 565,484.95 in expenditures. He reported $ 39,775 in total debts and obligations. Still, Rauner had $ 50,392,630.57 in his war chest at the close of the period.

In December, Rauner contributed $ 50 million to his campaign fund, which his campaign dubbed a first installment.

Among Rauner’s top expenditures was $ 338,092.12 to Project Applecart LLC, a New York company that offers “strategic political consultancy” while developing technology built to give tools and insights “for motivating political action.” The company says it builds “scalable, scientific and data- driven solutions,” according to the company’s website.

Other expenditures included $ 27,278.75 for Arena Online, a Salt Lake City digital marketing firm specializing in political campaigns.

Kennedy— the son of Robert F. Kennedy — reported $ 1,026,097.21 in contributions, with $ 7,085.45 in in- kind contributions and $ 118,669.60 in expenditures. Kennedy had $ 907,427.61 on hand at the end of March, according to the filing.

Pritzker, who announced his run for governor on April 6, reported $ 200,000 in contributions and $ 34.95 in in- kind contributions. His expenditures totaled $ 58,630.41 and he had $ 141,369.59 on hand by the end of March.

That number is of course boosted by the $ 7 million he contributed to his campaign on Friday.

Ald. Ameya Pawar reported $ 294,351.60 in contributions and $ 31,802.70 in in- kind contributions. His expenditures were reported as $ 48,148.55. He had $ 246,203.05 on hand by the end of the reporting period.

State Sen. Daniel Biss, DEvanston, reported $ 314,331.01 in contributions and $ 225.46 in inkind contributions. Biss reported $ 76,478.04 in total expenditures and had $ 1,592,081.07 on hand. On April 4, Biss’ campaign reported $ 313,861 in contributions.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel reported $ 530,350 in contributions and $ 270,926.15 in expenditures. He had $ 1.27 million on hand.