Campaign Finance Quarterly Reports Are In!

In the fourth quarter, contribution totals for Illinois gubernatorial candidates topped $26.5 million, increasing nearly threefold from the third quarter. This amount is four times what 2014 gubernatorial candidates collected during the corresponding time period in that race.

Expenditures also reached new highs in the fourth quarter. Candidates spent over $28.4 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 82% from the previous quarter. As the above chart shows, the cumulative amount of money spent by candidates in this election dwarfs the 2014 election, and the gap between the two elections continues to grow each quarter. While 2014 Illinois gubernatorial candidates spent a cumulative $8.7 million between the second and fourth quarters of 2013, candidates in the 2018 gubernatorial election spent a cumulative $58 million between the second and fourth quarters of 2017. 

Contributions
The top fundraisers in the fourth quarter were JB Pritzker with $21 million, Bruce Rauner with $2.9 million, and Daniel Biss with $1.1 million.Rounding out the gubernatorial candidates, Chris Kennedy came in fourth raising just over $1 million, and Jeanne Ives came in fifth raising $434,000. Compared to the last quarter, Bruce Rauner, JB Pritzker, Daniel Biss, Bob Daiber, and Robert Marshall all saw their fundraising haul increase.

Wealthy donors factored heavily into the fourth quarter contribution numbers. JB Pritzker, who remains committed to self-funding his entire campaign, upped his commitment this quarter, donating $21 million dollars to his campaign in three increments of $7 million. Prior to this quarter, he had donated a total of $21.2 million to his campaign. Chris Kennedy contributed just over $250,000 to his campaign this quarter. Governor Rauner also received a $2.5 million contribution from Citadel CEO Ken Griffin.

State Senator Daniel Biss led all gubernatorial candidates in contributions from small donors, raising $92,309 from individuals donating under $150.Those contributions represented 8% of his overall fundraising total, which is higher than JB Pritzker or Chris Kennedy, Biss’ main primary opponents.

Expenditures
Spending on advertising ramped up significantly this quarter, with candidates reporting a total of $15 million in advertising-related costs. This compares to just $6.2 million spent on ads in the 3rd quarter, and $7.5 million spent in the 2nd quarter. J.B. Pritzker led the pack in ad spending with $8.4 million. Governor Rauner followed close behind with $6.7 million in reported ad spending in the 4th quarter. Senator Biss reporting $85,000 in ad-related costs, while candidates Kennedy and Ives both reported about $11,000 each in advertising dollars. It should be noted that Kennedy spent about $681,000 on what he labeled as “political consulting,” but which likely included some ad development and purchasing through the firm Adelstein & Associates.
 
Personnel was the next most costly expenditure reported by gubernatorial candidates, with a total of $3.1 million spent on staffing-related items. J.B. Pritzker reported $2 million in personnel costs, while Rauner reported just under $400,000. Chris Kennedy spent an amount close to Rauner, with $381,000, and Senator Biss reported about $300,000 in personnel costs. Total payroll costs slightly exceeded the third quarter, in which candidates reported spending a total of $2.35 million.
 
Finally, candidates spent heavily on consulting services. Chris Kennedy spent a considerable amount in this category, totaling about $912,000 – just over half of his $1.6 million in spending for the quarter. Over $681,000 of his consultant spending was labeled as “media consulting,” which could include some advertising dollars. Pritzker spent the most on consulting with $1.6 million, and Rauner and Biss trailed with $376,000 and $112,000 respectively. 

For many candidates in the Illinois Attorney General’s race, the fourth quarter was the first full fundraising quarter since entering the race. As a result, fundraising in the race rose 14 times between the third and fourth quarters, from $249,862 to $3.8 million Spending also rose, with candidates reporting $931,834 in expenditures compared to last quarter’s $110,000.

Contributions
Among the AG candidates, Kwame Raoul led the way in fourth quarter fundraising, collecting $781,826 in contributions. At the end of the quarter, Raoul has also had $1.1 million cash on hand – more than any other candidate – due in part to the fundraising network he established as a prominent State Senator. The next largest fundraisers were Nancy Rotering with $631,498, and Jesse Ruiz with $549,226. Renato Mariotti led AG candidates in small donations, collecting $94,130 through donations under $150, accounting for 27% of his total fundraising.

Many candidates made large contributions to their own campaigns in order to jump start their bids for the Attorney General’s office. Sharon Fairley, for example, contributed $340,000 to her campaign in the fourth quarter through a mix of loans and donations. This sum amounts to 65% of her total fundraising in the quarter. Other candidates employing this tactic were Aaron Goldstein, Scott Drury, and Jesse Ruiz. Goldstein and Ruiz used loans and donations from themselves to add $185,000 and $105,600 to their campaign accounts this quarter, respectively. Meanwhile, Scott Drury and his father Larry Drury donated a combined $295k to Drury’s campaign in late December.

Expenditures
In the fourth quarter, the biggest spender in the Attorney General’s race was Jesse Ruiz, who spent $194,000. The next largest spenders were Renato Mariotti with $146,000, Gary Grasso with $116,000, and Kwame Raoul with $108,000. In all, five candidates, Ruiz, Mariotti, Grasso, Raoul, and Sharon Fairley spent over $100,000 in the fourth quarter. Three candidates – Scott Drury, Erika Harold, and Nancy Rotering – spent between $50,000 and $100,000, and two candidates – Pat Quinn and Aaron Goldstein – spent between $25,000 and $50,000.

By far, the largest category of candidate spending was paying staff and contract workers. Candidates spent $154,000 on staff payroll, benefits, and taxes and another $136,000 on contract work during the fourth quarter. Together, this accounts for 41% of all fourth quarter spending by Attorney General candidates. Jesse Ruiz led all candidates in payroll spending with $71,000 spent and nearly doubled the next highest spender in this category, Renato Mariotti.

To build their presence in the race, a number of candidates invested heavily in advertising and building campaign websites. Combined, candidates spent $32,000 on advertising across a variety of mediums, and $41,000 specifically on web services, like website development, web hosting, and domain names. The Drury campaign led the race in advertising, spending almost $10,000, whereas most candidates spent between $2,000 and $7,000 on advertising. The Erika Harold and Jessee Ruiz campaigns allocated the most for web services, spending $17,000 and $15,000 respectively. The amount spent on web services added up to over a quarter of the Harold campaign’s total spending in the fourth quarter.