Campaign Cash: One Year Highlights Lightfoot, Raoul and Pritzker Dominate
This year, in Chicago and statewide politics, African-Americans have made history in their elections to high-profile posts. Two of those officeholders have further distinguished themselves in terms of record fundraising numbers, our analysis shows. Comparing campaign cycles, Attorney General Kwame Raoul has outraised Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot*. Since her campaign committee was formed on May 11, 2018, Lightfoot has raised a total of $8,338,057.00.** Raoul brought in $13,313,748 from the time his campaign committee was formed in September 2017 through December 2018.
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By Dabney Lyles
Looking back over the past year, Lightfoot has outraised Mendoza, White, and Frerichs combined.
Pritzker has set the record for spending on an Illinois governorship, contributing $173 million to his own campaign. Pritzker has contributed 97.2% of the $177.6 million his campaign has brought in since he formed his committee in March 2017.
Lightfoot pulls in record amount since election
Just over 23 percent of the itemized contributions that Lightfoot, the city’s first female, African-American openly gay mayor, has raised have come in after her election on April 2. But 80 percent of those were raised since the runoff election on February 26, with the majority of her campaign contributions coming in between the first mayoral election on February 26 and the runoff mayoral election on April 2.
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JB Pritzker Campaign Contributions
Billionaire governors and their ability to contribute hefty sums to members of their own party has changed the fundraising dynamic on both sides of the aisle. During Rauner’s tenure as governor, he contributed $36.3 million to the Illinois Republican Party. After Pritzker set up his committee, JB for Governor, in March 2017, he started contributing heavily to the Democratic Party of Illinois and democratic controlled committees.
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Notes:
*There are now limits on the amount Lightfoot can fundraise, now that the election cycle is over.
**Total contributions from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.
*Kerry Lester contributed.
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