The filing deadline for the second quarter passed this week and we now have the fundraising numbers for the seven most competitive congressional races in the state, which you can view in the table below.
Out of seven races, only the two Democratic incumbents -- Melissa Bean and Bill Foster -- raised more than their GOP opponents during the filing period. Democrat Scott Harper came tantalizingly close to outraising Republican Rep. Judy Biggert in the 13th District. And as the Harper campaign pointed out in a press release yesterday, he did surpass Biggert in contributions from individuals:
Harper raised $185,000 from individual contributors while Biggert took in $130,989 during that same period. The rest of Biggert's fundraising came through Political Action Committees.
"While our campaign is reaching out to the families of our district, talking with them about the issues that matter most, Judy Biggert is taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from her corporate friends in insurance, banking and energy companies."
On his blog, Hiram Wurf further documents how Harper has received far more support from small donors.
Also of note, 14th District GOP challenger Jim Oberweis leant himself $500,000 during the second quarter. It's clear looking from his cash-on-hand numbers that if Oberweis hadn't done so, his campaign would be running on empty.
UPDATE: We've updated the numbers in the chart to reflect total receipts, rather than just total contributions. This adjustment has most significantly affected Seals and Halvorson's totals, as the contributions from a joint fundraiser they held were not included in the original figures.
Anonymous on Fri, 07/18/2008 - 11:47
looks like it is time to remove the Greenberg - Bean race from the serious contests in Illinois...
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