Top Primary Races: “Cost Per Vote”
In many of the most contentious Primary Election races, results remained too close to call for hours. As the dust settles this morning, we’ve taken a look at how much money candidates raised for each vote they received in key races. While full candidate spending numbers won’t be available until quarterly reports filed with the State Board of Elections in April, contribution disclosures make it possible to see just how much money these hotly contested candidates raised to secure a favorable vote share.
Statewide Races
In the Governor’s race, victor JB Pritzker (D) raised $124 per vote, and Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) raised an astonishing $215 per vote. In contrast, GOP challenger Jeanne Ives raised just $12 per vote, and received about 48% of the overall vote share in the Republican Primary race.
Amounts raised by winners of the Attorney General race paled in comparison, with Sen. Kwame Raoul (D) raising $8 per vote, and Erika Harold (R) raising just $2 per vote. Democratic Challenger Scott Drury raised the highest ratio in that race with $21 per vote. This was mostly due to a $1 million contribution he received from private funder Steven Miller.
Illinois Legislative Races
A few political newcomers pulled surprising upsets last night, showing that the most monied candidate is not always the victor. Aaron Ortiz, an educator, defeated Dan Burke, a 27-year state legislator and brother of prominent Chicago Alderman Ed Burke, to earn the Democratic nomination in the 1st State House district. Ortiz raised just $35 per vote to Burke’s $140. In the 8th State Senate District, Ram Villivalam defeated embattled State Senator Ira Silverstein for the Democratic nomination. While Silverstein had Senate establishment support, Villivalam still raised $25 per vote to Silverstein’s $38.
Other surprise upsets included self-funded candidate Fritz Kaegi declaring victory over Cook County Democratic Party Chair Joe Berrios in the race for Cook County Assessor. The two raised similar amounts of money, but Berrios relied heavily on property tax appeals lawyers and local party funds. In the hotly contested Illinois 3rd Congressional District, Democratic challenger Marie Newman was unable to best incumbent Dan Lipinski, even though Newman showed strong fundraising throughout the campaign. The two raised $73 and $68 per vote respectively.
