Fundraising Reports Show Tight Battles in Many House Races, but Overall Democratic Advantage
House Speaker Chris Welch and House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savana) speak at an event in Springfield in 2023. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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While multiple Republican lawmakers who represent House districts won by President Joe Biden in 2020 face potential uphill battles in November, some also face fundraising disadvantages headed into the fall.
Seven Republicans represent districts won by Biden in 2020. Six face competition from Democrats this fall.
In fundraising reports due to the Illinois State Board of Elections late Monday, dollars and cents were a mixed bag in the top competitive races.
Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton), possibly the most vulnerable House Republican in November, raised $2,300 in the second quarter of the year and has around $13,500 cash on hand. Her Democratic opponent, Jackie Williamson of Wheaton, raised around $10,000 last quarter, and has around $16,000 cash on hand.
House Democrats are expected to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, to win Grant’s seat. Biden won that DuPage County-based district by 12 percentage points.
Freshman Rep. Kevin Schmidt (R-Millstadt) upset Rep. LaToya Greenwood in 2022, and Greenwood, who is heavily backed by House Speaker Chris Welch’s political staff, is attempting to regain the Metro East this fall. Biden won the district by around 7 points in 2020.
Schmidt raised around $13,000 in the second quarter of the year and filed with around $35,000 cash on hand on June 30. Greenwood, meanwhile, raised around $15,000 in the quarter and has around $111,000 cash on hand. The race is seen as a top priority for Welch and his political staff.
Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro (R-Hanover Park) represents a suburban district won by Biden by around 3-percentage points in 2020, though her 2024 opponent does not appear to be mounting much of a financial challenge.
Sanalitro raised around $40,000 in the last quarter and has around $70,000 in the bank. Her opponent, Maria Vesey, reported just $41 in the bank.
Biden won the suburban district represented by Rep. Marty McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills), by six points in 2020. McLaughlin is being challenged by Maria Peterson, who lost a narrow Senate race in 2022 and is seen as a top tier challenger to McLaughlin.
McLaughlin raised around $32,000 last quarter and filed with around $100,000 in the bank. Peterson raised around $36,000 and filed with around $40,000 cash on hand.
Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock)’s district is a +2% Biden district. Reick has around $44,000 cash on hand. His opponent, Mary Mahady, has around $23,000. Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has around $65,000 in the bank. His Democratic opponent, Linda Robertson, has around $27,000 in the bank. Biden won Ugaste’s district by about one percentage point.
Money is also a concern for former Rep. Mike Marron’s replacement, Rep. Brandun Schweizer (R-Danville). In a Champaign-to-Danville district won by Biden by around 4 percentage points in 2020, Schweizer faces a cash deficit to heavily union-backed Democrat Jarrett Clem. (We previewed that race here.)
Schweizer raised around $11,000 in the second quarter and has around $15,000 cash on hand. Clem, meanwhile, raised around $26,000 and had around $125,000 on hand on June 30.
Speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Wednesday, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savana) admitted fundraising challenges for some of her members.
“Fundraising is not always easy for some members. Selling hope in Illinois is extremely hard,” McCombie said. “After we win some elections, some of those donors will come back. We won’t be able to outspend. It can’t be about that. It’s about candidate recruitment. We have great candidates. They’re working hard, they’re walking doors, they’re hearing what’s needed by the voters. And that’s how we’re going to win.”
House Speaker Chris Welch, meanwhile, has a combined $8.5 million in his personal account and House Democrat accounts while McCombie has around $1.8 million.
“It’s going to be a long fall for House Republicans,” said one Republican consultant on condition of anonymity. “Even if [former President Donald] Trump’s numbers improve, you’re still going to see all of these vulnerable Republicans snowed under in TV, mail, and digital ads that they won’t have the money to fight.”
Meanwhile, Governor Pritzker reported around $6.8 million in his fully self-funded campaign account. It spent around $900,000 last quarter. The largest expense was for an ad campaign countering union commercials around the primary.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has the most money on hand of other statewide elected officials. He has around $2.1 million in the bank. Both Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Treasurer Mike Frerichs are over $1 million cash on hand. All three, along with Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton and Comptroller Susana Mendoza are all seen as possible contenders for the Governor’s office if Pritzker doesn’t run again in 2026.
In the open 76th House District, being vacated by Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa), Republican Liz Bishop has a slight cash advantage on Democrat Amy Murri Briel. Bishop has around $25,000 on hand, while Briel has around $19,000. Republicans see the district as one of their best pickup opportunities.
In the open 45th House District, being vacated by freshman Rep. Jenn Ladisch Douglass (D-Elmhurst), Elmhurst Alderwoman Marti Deuter has around $31k in the bank compared to $26k for former Rep. Dennis Reboletti.
In former GOP Leader Jim Durkin’s 82nd District, appointed Rep. Nicole La Ha (R-Homer Glenn) faces a cash deficit in a district Democrats believe can be competitive. La Ha has around $59,000 in the bank. Her opponent, Suzanne Akhras, has around $100,000.
McCombie also claimed Wednesday Republicans would flip five Democratic seats in November, though the only ones she specifically laid out as targets were the open 45th and 76th districts. She also said the GOP would be “playing” in multiple suburban districts.
