Today’s number: $42.97
Wednesday, Mar 19, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bruce Rauner spent about $14 million to win yesterday’s Republican gubernatorial primary. With 99.4 percent of the vote counted, Rauner has tallied 325,792 votes. That’s $42.97 a vote.
…Adding… To be fair, this e-mail was just sent by the Rauner campaign. It’s called “Primary Campaign By The Numbers”…
Since taking the first steps of a campaign for governor a little over a year ago, Bruce Rauner has been committed to running a comprehensive, grassroots-oriented campaign that enabled him to overcome nearly $6 million spent by Democrats and special interests attempting to defeat Bruce in the primary.
Democrat/Special Interest Money Spent to Defeat Bruce: $5,800,000+
Votes for Bruce Rauner: 325,972
Votes for Pat Quinn: 314, 085
Volunteer Phone Calls: 250,000+
Illinois Miles Traveled: 50,000+
Donations: 5750+
Volunteers: 2,300+
Campaign & Community Events: 550+
72 Hour Program Volunteers: 500+
Media Interviews: 200+
Years Since GOP Nominee Received More Primary Votes Than Democrat Nominee: 16
Years Since GOP Nominee Received More Votes Than Rauner: 12
Debates/Forums: 8
Campaign Field Offices: 3
Bruce Rauner Name ID One Year Ago: 0
- Union Man - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:15 am:
Sad! I lot of hungry men, women and children could have been fed!
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:16 am:
Geez, he should have just offered up double-sawbucks, cash, per vote. Would have saved a lot of dough.
- Anonymiss - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:16 am:
He could have bought everyone three watches.
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:16 am:
$42.97 would buy several pints of Guinness at his cash bar last night.
- From the 'Dale to HP - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:17 am:
That’s a horrible ROI. His running government like a business is off to a really bad start it appears.
- Mokenavince - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:17 am:
A fin or a half pint always got better results.
November will be very expensive.
- Norseman - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:17 am:
I won’t be bought for anything less than $100.
- $$$ per vote - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:19 am:
The other question is how much per vote was spent on losing the election!!!!
- Montrose - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:19 am:
“He could have bought everyone three watches.”
For the win.
- Bourbonrich - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:20 am:
Hopefully all that money went to companies located in Illinois so we can see if there is any positive impact on the Illinois economy. It does seem to show that he has little idea of how to budget or what regular Illinoisians face each day with paying bills and going to work.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:21 am:
And he won. Somewhere, Blair Hull, who spent twice that trying to do what Rauner did, is jealous.
How much did the Unions spend to lose? And no matter how they want to spin it, this was their shot and they failed. Whomever wins the General now, they lose.
- Big Joe - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:23 am:
That number will probably double for the general election. Might as well buy every Rauner voter a monogrammed Carhartt jacket.
- Norseman - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:24 am:
=== Hopefully all that money went to companies located in Illinois … ===
Last I looked at the reports, there was a lot of money flowing out-of-state.
- In the Middle - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:25 am:
No one knew Rauner a year ago, so he had to outspend everyone by a huge margin.
The ROI does sound abysmal, but he ran a great campaign. That tells me $42.97/vote is what he had to spend to do it.
- Langhorne - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:25 am:
Does this number include term limit cash? It should
- In the Middle - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:27 am:
Big Joe @ 10:23…
Multiply that number by 10 and you still won’t get the amount that Meg Whitman spent in CA. Rauner’s going to blow past 100 million in the General. Bet on it.
- funny guy - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:31 am:
Who does Rahm support now–Rauner or Quinn?
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:35 am:
==Who does Rahm support now–Rauner or Quinn?==
Note where Rahm was not at last night: Quinn’s victory party
- D.P.Gumby - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:39 am:
I would say the money spent to defeat Rauner is beginning of fall campaign to defeat Rauner.
- Langhorne - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:45 am:
Grassroots campaign? You kidding me? It was a $14,000,000 air war, supplemented by print. How dare someone oppose him?
A disjointed, last minute $6,000,000 campaign came within 3% of knocking off a guy w a 14% lead. If rutherford suppressed his ego and dropped out, dillard likely wins.
The cost per vote should include term limit money
- Walker - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:47 am:
Competent staff.
Still, Rauner spent more than twice the dollars per vote than all his opponents combined, and nearly lost to one of them.
They competently bought this win, starting from 0 awareness. Congrats to them.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:49 am:
lol WHOever wins…. You always do that, “Anonymous.”
- OneMan - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:54 am:
== A disjointed, last minute $6,000,000 campaign came within 3% of knocking off a guy w a 14% lead. If rutherford suppressed his ego and dropped out, dillard likely wins. ==
Yeah and if the pawnbroker doesn’t win the Gov lite primary last time odds are he doesn’t run as an independent and the odds are good that we would have had a Governor Brady.
Politics, like life is full of Ifs….
- Living in Machiaville - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:58 am:
A few more numbers from Tribune site:
Total Dem votes in gov race: 436,149
total Rep votes in gov race: 808,409
- Samurai - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 11:00 am:
As a long time friend of Kirk Dillard from our days at Western Illinois University and as a member of the Campaign, this was yet another difficult loss for the team, Kirk and mostly his family. But that is politics.
I have posted rather derisive comments and statements. Politics. I want to now congratulate Bruce Rauner and his crew for execution of a near flawless campaign. Best wishes to you all for the future.
- Jimbo - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 11:13 am:
Whoa Oneman, I’m going to need you to show your work on that one. I don’t see how a dem running as an independent siphoned more votes from Brady than Quinn.
- Walter Mitty - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 11:13 am:
Samurai… Classy… I think on this site that Rauner said the sun set’s in the west, he would be mocked for paying for that to happen… Look at all the numbers. Listen back to the waitress who said, “No campaigning here.” But he was a really nice guy… He will go left and work to win. Was not my choice, but I like Samurai can give credit where it is due.Flawless campaign. I expect the same in the future, and same results.
- Tobor - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 11:14 am:
Where was Rahm?
- George Washington - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 11:29 am:
To state the obvious, If the trib’s total number of dem and repub votes are correct, then more than 900,000 voters did not want Rauner. He better figure out how to get them to his side if he wants to win in November. Actually, the same goes for Quinn. Double the number of votes that either got, didn’t want them to be governor.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 1:38 pm:
We have a figure now for a GOP Primary the cost of lacking ethics and morals, and lack honest and integrity.
“Just under $48 a vote, I can live with that,” say those who don’t mind voting against their better self.
To the Post,
The GOTV cost must be impactful facing Quinn. Otherwise, you don’t “close” against Pat Quinn, he closes you out like Mariano Riveria, broken bats like broken dreams notwithstanding.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 1:54 pm:
There is a lot of frustrated politicians in both parties that wanted Rauner’s cash this year - like in years passed.
I wonder how much Rauner spent each campaign cycle is donations in previous years?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 2:01 pm:
–There is a lot of frustrated politicians in both parties that wanted Rauner’s cash this year - like in years passed.–
He dished out plenty to other campaigns and groups. You can look it up at ISBE.
- Mr. T - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 3:00 pm:
Almost 15 million to win a primary, wait for him to spend 40+ million in the general. Guess no one told him the media held back on him during the primary because of the green stuff he threw at them to play nice with him. BR will not be so lucky in the general when he runs agains Quinn, instead of 3 Republicans with 1 or 2 millinon to spend. Expensive hobby for BR.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 3:31 pm:
@Mr T
$40 million is lowball for what Rauner will spend.
$60 million is a likely floor. $100 million will not shock me.
- Both Sides Now - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 4:10 pm:
No need for anyone who supports Governor Quinn to cast a primary ballot - he was a shoe-in. So comparing the number of votes he got to Rauner is inconsequential.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 5:25 pm:
Perspective?
Quinn and Tio only got 550,000 total votes. Tio was never considered serious, almost making it uncontested…
2010 had Hynes, hotly contested, 916,000 votes total in that race.
2006 had Eisendrath, getting 944,000 votes total in that race.
2002 had Rod, Vallas, and Burris going over 1.2 million on that race.
Democratic dog fights. Major factor? Nothing going on, on the Dem side…not Rauner energizing being a mitigating factor greater than the lack of race on the Dem side.
- Disgruntled Southern Illinoisan - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:01 pm:
That’s not saying a whole lot considering how little interest was in the Dem Primary, and how much was in the GOP Primary. I was a Brady voter who is now voting for Quinn. Yeah, that how much I dislike Rauner.
- Disgruntled Southern Illinoisan - Wednesday, Mar 19, 14 @ 10:01 pm:
That’s not saying a whole lot considering how little interest was in the Dem Primary, and how much was in the GOP Primary. I was a Brady voter who is now voting for Quinn. Yeah, that how much I dislike Rauner.