KRISHNAMOORTHI’S FUNDRAISING LEADS ILLINOISANS IN CONGRESS
WASHINGTON — Heading into the 2018 election cycle, among Illinoisans in Congress, freshman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is leading in fundraising, and Rep. Bill Foster has stockpiled the most campaign cash, according to Federal Election Commission records released on Monday. Highlights: † Democrat Krishnamoorthi, from the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District, has raised $ 1,545,799 since Jan. 1— some $ 722,962 of that in April, May and June— in all, more than anyone else in the Illinois delegation.
Even though Foster, a Democrat from the west suburban 11th Congressional District, collected only $ 474,719 since January, he has the most cash on hand: $ 2,293,452, topping all 18 House members and Democratic Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
What this means: Krishnamoorthi and Foster are building big war chests in order to scare off GOP challengers in political turf that is not totally safe for Democrats.
† The money story is just starting to unfold in the Democratic primary in the west suburban 6th Congressional District, where a group of rivals are battling to take on GOP Rep. Peter Roskam. Roskam, as earlier reported, has raised $ 1,428,965 so far this year and has $ 1,146,845 cash on hand.
Barrington Hills Planning Commission member Kelly Mazeski raised $ 208,673, loaning her campaign $ 90,000, with $ 189,372 in the bank.
Attorney Amanda Howland has $ 65,400 in receipts, loaning her campaign $ 25,000, with $ 47,558 cash on hand.
Suzyn Price, a Naperville District 203 school board member, took in $ 39,691 and has $ 28,939 cash on hand.
Foster’s former chief of staff Carole Cheney jumped in the primary lastweek— so her fundraising will be disclosed after the next quarter.
What this means: Roskam, with no significant primary brewing, can sit on his campaign money while the March Democratic Illinois primary winner may well have to start fundraising from scratch. National Dem donors will be watching to see if any of the contenders break out of the fundraising pack after the third quarter.
† There is only one Illinois Democratic primary involving an incumbent. Rep. Dan Lipinski, the most conservative Democrat in the delegation, is facing a challenge from Marie Newman, who aligns with Democratic progressives in the South Side and south suburban 3rd Congressional District.
For the first half of the year, Lipinski has collected $ 288,509, with $ 1,390,878 cash on hand.
Newman has receipts of $ 192,327, loaning her campaign $ 50,000 with $ 109,332 cash on hand.
What this means: Newman’s campaign will be a test of whether the new Democratic movements springing up in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory— made up of Bernie Sanders backers, the Indivisibles, the Resistance, etc., have fundraising juice.