GOV’S RACE PRICE TAG: $ 150M — AND IT’S ONLY HALF OVER
The two men vying to be Illinois’ next governor have already spent more than $ 132 million. And that’s just for the primary. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner dished out more than $ 63 million, and Democrat J. B. Pritzker spent $ 68 million, from December 2016 until the end of March, according to expenditures filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
That’s $ 176 per vote for Rauner, and $ 119 for Pritzker.
Adding in the money shelled out by Rauner’s and Pritzker’s primary rivals, and the spending tops $ 150 million.
It’s more proof that the Illinois governor’s race is already living up to expectations that it will break a record $ 280 million spent in California’s 2010 gubernatorial race — and candidates have already raised more than those candidates did during that cycle.
Rauner spent $ 63,809,833.98 from December 2016 until the end of March, according to a quarterly report filed Monday for contributions received from Jan. 1 through March 31.
Rauner took in $ 608,972.11 in contributions. He spent $ 17,706,536.53, which also included more than $ 360,000 in transfers to other Republican campaign committees. The majority of Rauner’s expenditures went towards TV ad buys. He spent $ 11,507,820 on media buys with Target Enterprises LLC, a California company. He also spent an additional $ 305,000 to pay for an ad for Republican attorney general candidate Erika Harold.
Pritzker reported more than $ 34 million in contributions, with all coming from his own deep pockets. He spent $ 34,045,895.32 in the final months of the campaign, and still has $ 8.1 million on hand. Pritzker has offered no signs he’ll set a limit on his self-contributions.
State Rep. Jeanne Ives, R- Wheaton, who gave Rauner a run for his money in the primary, spent about $ 12.58 per vote. She garnered 341,836 statewide votes, while spending about $ 4.3million since first announcing her run.
Ives received $ 3.926 million in contributions, with $ 2.5million from Richard-Uihlein and $ 20,000 from conservative radio host Dan Proft. Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman also contributed $ 5,000 to Ives’ campaign.
The bulk of Ives’ campaign-money—$ 2.74 million— was spent on advertising. She also spent $ 385,680 on a pamphlet called “The Governor You Don’t Know: The Other Side of Bruce Rauner,” which was published and sent out to voters’ homes.
On the Democratic side of the race, state Sen. Daniel Biss, D- Evanston, reported $ 2.825 million in contributions. He spent $ 5.854 million in the waning days of the election, namely on big media buys that had his face emblazoned on TV screens. His total campaign spending was $ 7,452,241.
At the end of the period, he had just $ 94,558.64.
Chris Kennedy, who came in third in the Democratic primary, reported $ 3,234,165.22 in contributions and spent $ 3.896 million this year, bringing his campaign total to $ 6,900,087.27. He had $ 74,563.72 cash on hand at the end of the reporting period, filing show.
In the Illinois attorney general’s race, Republican Erika Harold reported $ 332,999.44 in contributions and $ 259,182.58 in expenditures. Harold has $ 91,557.23 on hand. Rauner donated $ 305,000 to her primary campaign and is expected to provide financial backing ahead of the November election.
Her Democratic opponent, state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D- Chicago, had not yet filed his quarterly report as of 9: 45 p. m.