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* Kent Redfield took a look at self-funders and campaign contributions from the last several Republican gubernatorial primaries…
2002 Republican
Wood $7.808 million ($5.347 million self-funding – received as loans from spouse)
J Ryan $6.379 million
O’Malley $4.383 millionTotal $18.590 million
2006 Republican
Oberweis $ 3.576 million ($3.338 million self-funding – some of it loans that were paid back)
Gidwitz $12.478 million ($6.546 million self-funding – Gidwitz and family members)
Topinka $ 3.150 million
Brady $ 1.661 millionTotal $20.865 million
2010 Republicans
Dillard $2.100 million
McKenna $5.610 million ($2.687 million self-funding)
Brady $1.451 million
Andzejewski $1.440 million
Schillerstrom $1.091 million
J Ryan $0.858 million
Proft $0.474 millionTotal $13.024 million
2014 Republican (2013 + Cash on hand + Money raised 2014 = Estimate primary spending to date)
Rauner $12.77 million ($5.050 million self-funding)
Brady $487,000
Rutherford $2.12 million
Dillard $1.15 millionTotal to date $16.527 million
So, what you see here is that Bruce Rauner’s spending is not completely out of line with past self-funders. He is totally dominating, though. It’s not that he’s flooding the zone as much as he’s Hoovered up most of the cash. And he’s run a far better campaign than those past self-funders.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 9:57 am
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So far Rauner has spent more than any other Republican, but the total is lower because Brady has spent so little, compared to the rest.
Comment by 3rd Generation Chicago Native Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:02 am
Hey how much did Mitt Rauner “lose” with his Acartha Group LLC investment. Apparently Burt Morriss got 60 months for the swindle. Hopefully someone is doing more than a rewrite of the SEC press release.
Comment by circularfiringsquad Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:05 am
What jumps out at me is that the candidate with the most money didn’t win any of these primaries.
Comment by veritas Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:15 am
===the candidate with the most money didn’t win any===
Yep.
Rauner isn’t just spending big bucks, he’s spending them in a very smart way, for the most part. He’s not the usual rich white guy.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:16 am
This is one of those situations where you might say the glass is either half empty or half full depending on your point of view. Unfortunately for the pitiful three, Rauner is using a Big Gulp cup.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:16 am
The numbers are reality. Like any you can see what you like. The key seems to be the OTHER money that he has generated. His campaign has been far better than the other three. Simply put, take away his 5 mil, would anything be drastically different? He would still be far ahead…Perhaps, but it shows they are in it to win it… As the other 3 decide who should drop out… They should take a look at this and decide…. All lose? Or one try to win? By all 3 suffering from delusions, my guess is they choose all lose….
Comment by Walter Mitty Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:17 am
Received a phone call last night from Mr.Rauner’s Town Hall call in meeting inviting me to join in. I listened as other caller asked questions and Mr. Rauner provided answers. The moderator came on my line and asked my first name and topic I wished to discuss to which I respond “pension theft”. He advised that I was coming up on the list to be on the line .
You guessed it, I never got on. Town Hall meeting concluded with the answer he was giving to the caller on the line at that time.
Topic must have been to controversial.
Comment by PERPLEXED Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:17 am
Oops. The above was me. Forget that I cleared the cookies.
Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:18 am
If Rauner wins the GOP primary, it says more about the lack of morality in the GOP base than it does about an oligarch with more money than he knows what to do with, than anything else.
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:19 am
The campaign contributions don’t include how much Rauner has paid “Republican” non-profits and tax-exempt organizations to help (directly and indirectly) on social media, event organization, and his GOTV efforts.
Comment by justsayin' Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:20 am
now I can see why Brady maybe doesn’t focus on money as much. not a great strategy if it even is one. but he’s batting .500 compared to others who way outspent him past 2 cycles.
Comment by PoolGuy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:21 am
circularfiringsquad: Morriss isn’t the only ex-Rauner exec doing time for fraud: The mgt. team from Lason is in the slammer. Throw in Stuey Levine & GTCR could have their own prison basketball team!! They just need a tall guy to play center. Hmmmm.
Comment by veritas Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:21 am
Public Servant… That is a rather broad brush…
Comment by Walter Mitty Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:23 am
@Walter===Simply put, take away his 5 mil, would anything be drastically different? He would still be far ahead==
That’s debatable. Unless the assumption is he has the same advertising coverage. Otherwise, just another rich guy no one knows about or cares about.
Comment by Samurai Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:30 am
(1) Rauner is trying to buy the election.
(2) He has soundbites without any detail.
(3) He masquerades as an outsider while being the consummate insider dealmaker.
(4) Mr not-Everyman’s campaign as an Everyman is clear to anyone who cares to see.
I’ll modify my above conclusion Walter, by saying that “it indicates a lack of morality in the majority of the GOP base that elected him”. Aside from that, I stand by my statement. If a broad brush is needed, then painting with a narrow one is foolish.
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:32 am
And we have had a president elected twice with the same strategy and can argue even worse….Class warfare ain’t resonating this time…yet.
Comment by Walter Mitty Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:35 am
Rauner has run a decent campaign. But like any other big job, it’s all in the prep work and he just outhustled the Other 3 there.
There’s no crying when you get outhustled.
C’mon — how many years have the Other 3 been running for governor? Most of their adult lives. They couldn’t lock down any money? Did they think they were going to win on their good looks?
Rauner is like Sherman through Georgia with the GOP money crew. It’s a sight to see.
The takeaway going forward, as YDD and VMan pointed out the other day, is that the old GOP money is done with the old GOP establishment. They have no use for them. Applications are being accepted, and Rauner is the first hire.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:37 am
=== Class warfare ain’t resonating this time…yet. ===
I don’t know about that. It’s resonating pretty loud with me and every other public-sector worker and retiree in the state.
Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:38 am
===every other public-sector worker===
I wouldn’t say every…
Comment by Quiet Observer Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:43 am
===Class warfare ain’t resonating this time…yet===
That’s where you’re wrong Walter. Rauner is just the one of the current and most blatant skirmishers in a war the middle class has been losing for the last 30 years as the current state of income disparity shows.
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:46 am
Word agree with you wholeheartedly. KD and BB have raised close to $2 million less compared to 2010. and they are asking for the other 2 to drop out so they can face BR one on one? comical.
Comment by PoolGuy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:47 am
Public servant,
“If Rauner wins the GOP primary, it says more about the lack of morality in the GOP base”
You have to be kidding, Everyone new about Blago but he still was re elected, Derrick smith is under indictment and won re election, I guees you forgot about your Dem primary winner for lt gov last election, Morality thats good.
Comment by fed up Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:47 am
Rauner knows what he’s doing.
Which is not to say, he isn’t digging himself potentially a massive hole, in terms of what he’ll actually be able to -govern- on, if elected. Some of this is smarts, some of it is willingness to say anything or pander to anyone, at least on economic fantasies about IL fiscal policy. That doesn’t necessarily require much intelligence, it just takes a certain kind of will.
But we’ll see. Again, I’m really curious to see if he pivots if and when he wins the nomination.
Comment by ZC Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:49 am
I’d add, the GOP money crew has been dissatisfied for some time.
When JBT was getting pummeled — for months — on TV by Blago’s dirty money, they either sat on their wallets or contributed to Blago to hedge their bets.
The Illinois GOP is in shambles. No Big Jim. No Pate in the GA. Nothing to build on. It’s a new business strategy for the money boys, and the likes of the old guard like Dillard, Brady, Rutherford and JBT are out.
The money boys are retooling, going Dixie and investing in the anti-union misanthrope, Rauner. For better or worse.
I think it’s a loser strategy in the long run, but it ain’t my money.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 10:54 am
To the Post,
It’s not just the “money”;
It is how the money is being spent, the intensity of where the money is spent, and the miserable fact that the other “3 ” combined have yet to match 3 weeks of self funding and money raised by “Bruce Rauner”.
Further, Bruce Rauner closed the spigot of cash for the other “3″ as “Bruce Rauner” rails on career politicians and unions.
Can’t “beef” being out “X”ed in every facet of a campaign.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:00 am
@PS JJJ won his last election
Comment by DoubleDown Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:01 am
–Again, I’m really curious to see if he pivots if and when he wins the nomination.–
Like Nixon said, in the GOP, you run hard and fast to the right in the primary, then hard and fast to the center in the general.
The trick is not to get stuck in the swamp of the looney right, like Mitt did.
With Rauner, after the primary, he’ll start romancing the Suburban Women — the deciders in every Illinois general election.
Think abortion, think gays, think kids and schools.
You ain’t going to see a lot of Farner Bruce, Carharrt and Harleys after the primary. You’re going to see a lot of Uncle Bruce in his vest with smiling kids.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:04 am
Fed Up, so are you saying that your guy Rauner exemplifies the traditions and tactics of the Dems whose actions you hate, so you’re going to vote for him, or what, LOL? I’m definitely not enamored with the corrupt dems this state fronts who just passed an unconstitutional pension theft law, but electing Rauner would be an unconscionable validation that this representative democracy is done for and we’re controlled by oligarchs that stand for nothing but an even greater concentration of wealth and power, while everyone else fights over the dwindling scraps that our hard work has earned them. Talk about takers.
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:09 am
==It’s not that he’s flooding the zone as much as he’s Hoovered up most of the cash===
One of the most important dimensions of this campaign— Illinois’s Republican rich have spurned the party guys and jumped onto the Rauner bandwagon.
Comment by Conservative Republican Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:13 am
Public Servant, I can’t disagree with you more. If there is a state wide Governor race that has been won in the last 20 years with no money, please post it. If you are offended by how he made his money, that is a very slippery slope. See Jesse Jackson Sr. Jr. Warren Buffet…Steve Jobs… Bill Gates. I respect that you have a different point of view. It’s what makes our country great.
Comment by Walter Mitty Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:19 am
CR, true. Illinois’ Republican “comfortable, but not rich” have done the same.
Comment by A guy... Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:21 am
Walter, using a reductio ad absurdum argument to support your position is, I hope, not indicative that’s all you’ve got. I never said that someone could win with no money, and certainly others have won with no ideas, but the ratio of the amount of money being poured in by Rauner and his fellow .01 percenters in proportion to the ideas being proffered by the candidate is way off the charts and has the effect of actually limiting political speech by it’s ability to drown out any discussion of ideas on either side. I get that this blog allows people to revel in the tactics of the race, but to me that’s missing the forest for the nuances of the trees. You shouldn’t want Rauner to win that way either, but if he were just to be in the ballpark of the campaign finances of his opponents, he’d at least have to discuss his ideas. With that much money, he apparently doesn’t have to. I’m sure we disagree on many things Walter, but money, to the exclusion of all else, shouldn’t equal political victory. And that should be a non-partisan position.
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:39 am
Public servants,
“controlled by that stand for nothing but an even greater concentration of wealth and power,”
A. I will not vote for Rauner or Quinn,
B Yes we are controlled by oligarchs Named Madigan, Burke, Daley Stroger, Jackson
Comment by fed up Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:45 am
Fed Up,
A. Neither will I
B. LOL
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:49 am
One more thing to consider, in terms of this ongoing IL-isn’t-Wisconsin debate: Consider the following voting breakdowns.
For Wisconsin vs IL, in Presidential elections:
2000 48% Republican / 43% Republican
2004 49% Republican / 45% Republican
2008 42% Republican / 37% Republican
2012 46% Republican / 41% Republican
It’s a consistent pattern, in other words. WI is about 5% more Republican than IL. That’s not negligible. Rauner will learn a lot about that 5% differential if he attempts to govern here like Scott Walker does up north.
Comment by ZC Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 11:50 am
Public Servant… I agree with almost all of that… He will HAVE to take a position on everything after the primary… Now, he has no reason to change… Much respect…
Comment by Walter Mitty Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 12:00 pm
@wordslinger nails it on multiple levels.
Rauner hasn’t just outspent his competition, he’s outhustled and outsmarted his competition.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 12:21 pm
“Meg Whitman loses California governor race despite $160 million tab; Jerry Brown wins for 3rd time”
Rauner’s only real edge is his competition or lack of.
Comment by No sure thing Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 12:24 pm
No sure thing, keep repeating that and it will become true. But only to you.
Comment by A guy... Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 12:53 pm
Unlike Dillard and Brady, Rauner isn’t already a loser.
And the only time a bald middle aged man accused Bruce of grabbing his butt, it was because Bruce had pickpocketed his wallet from him.
And every one of these guys would be a better governor than what we have had since 1998.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 1:12 pm
One thing I think people are overlooking is that Rauner’s position isn’t really all that extreme. Rauner blames public employees for Illinois economic problems. Well, so did Quinn and the GA hence the move to cut benefits. Granted Rauner wants to go further, but when Rauner says public unions are the problem, how can Quinn disagree when he really does agree?
Rauner may seem extreme in a vacuum but in the context of the current political landscape, he’s not really too far from the mainstream.
Comment by Johnny Q. Suburban Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 1:38 pm
===Granted Rauner wants to go further, but when Rauner says public unions are the problem, how can Quinn disagree when he really does agree?===
Since Pat Quinn and a great many others don’t blame Unions as the problem, your premise that Rauner seems not bat much different, and not extreme in his position has no weight.
Blaming the Unions IS the extreme. Period. The constitution guarantees Union positions, the bill was passed and signed to address an issue, not… the Unions.
Bruce Rauner is extreme going after Unions and ignoring the constitution. The passed bill addresses the constitution and will be decided. Rauner wouldn’t mind shutting down government and ignore the constitution.
Nope, your premise fails to see what us at play here.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 1:44 pm
Wordslinger is spot on ! Rauner just outworked and outhustled the other 3 political lifers - end of story.
Comment by SlapShotII Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 1:48 pm
To quote AFSCME, among others, Pat Quinn has very much joined the “blame unions” parade:
“At a glance, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn may not seem to have much in common politically with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Quinn is a Democrat and the others are staunch Republicans. But in recent months, Quinn has joined their ignoble fraternity: governors intent on attacking workers’ rights and scapegoating public service workers.”
http://www.afscme.org/blog/in-illinois-the-anti-worker-fraternity-get-a-new-member-in-quinn
Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 2:03 pm
–“Meg Whitman loses California governor race despite $160 million tab; Jerry Brown wins for 3rd time”–
It’s true that money isn’t everything.
But there’s certainly nobody of the gravitas of Jerry Brown in the primary, and I don’t think Quinn has those bones either.
Jerry Brown is a living legend in Cali and smart as a whip, too. Timing is everything in life, and it just never worked out for him to be president.
Some dude from Dixon got in his way, lol.
Rauner is a heavy. Again, although he has money, he’s not a self-funder. He has a national big-money network stoned-tripping on his anti-public-union message.
Just wait; after the primary, the sneaky, nobody-knows-who-funded-it negative spots on Quinn will dominate the telly.
Forget Wisconsin; Illinois is the big prize, nationally, on the anti-union front.
And you can bet the best 1%-fundraiser in the world, Rahm, is working the phones for Rauner to take his revenge on the CTU who made him look so weak and small.
Quinn can beat Rauner. But it’s no sure thing. And he better pack a lunch, because it’s going to be an all-day job.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 2:10 pm
===And you can bet the best 1%-fundraiser in the world, Rahm, is working the phones for Rauner to take his revenge on the CTU who made him look so weak and small.===
So all you Republicans supporting Rahm;
You going to be “cool” when Rahm starts working “Big time” for “Bruce Rauner”?
Wake up, Raunerites care about Rauner and the 1%, not the Dems, the GOP, or even the Indies.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 2:46 pm
OW, thank you for changing the term Raunerbots to Raunerites. It’s definitely more becoming. lol. Republican Governors and Democratic Mayors working cooperatively isn’t a new concept, just one we haven’t seen for a while. I understand your overriding point. We’re just not in agreement.
Comment by A guy... Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 3:42 pm
Raunerites are those lemmings who refuse to see reality and vote against their better self.
Raunerbots are those who brag about being Raunerites a d use the talking points to rationalize the arguement.
Rahm is a Raunerite, not a Dem. You make a man a millionaire, he is yours, vacations or not.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 3:46 pm
OW, not so becoming after all when you put it like that. My better self is supporting Rauner. My worse self doesn’t vote. It’s too important.
Comment by A guy... Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 4:44 pm
You said it was “more becoming”, I never did.
If your better self supports hypocrisy, a lack of character, ethics and morality, you said that too, not me.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 4:59 pm
@OW1:44=The constitution guarantees the union position=The pensions are guaranteed in the constitution, but unions themselves are not. If the SCOILL throws out SB1 Rauner would blame the unions and try to eliminate public sector union representation by any means. This could include his offer to fund campaigns for legislators who vote his way. Would he be able to repeal the IELRA with a 51% vote?
Comment by DuPage Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 8:01 pm
It’s still big money, any way you shake it, that br is spending, but the difference is his strategy: to pound away at the “Establishment,” i.e. DEMocrats, including Pat Quinn, who’ve been, in his view, in control for too long, and to blame a good part of THAT reality on Unions–AND to send that message CONstantly, daily, nightly via TV and Radio Ads, focusing, incidentally, much of the bashing ON Quinn, rather than his RePUBlican Opponents–as if to communicate via the Airwaves to the less-sophisticated Voters out there among us, that he already IS and HAS BECOME the singular “Other Guy” Opponent to the Governor, i.e. “Bad Guy Establishment,” whether he’s a GOPer or not! And it worked for him–br GOT his message out to enough Republicans that he has a solid, and likely too BIG of a lead at this point, to be overcome in the Primary.
The GENeral, however, is a whole New Ballgame. And the well-embattled, well-rehearsed Pat Quinn and the Illinois Democratic Party have been gearin’ up for MONTHS now to get their hands around this guy’s neck. And, as we see with the most recent ANTI-Rauner TV Ads, some of these “Cause” folks just couldn’t hold back any longer and decided to start aiding the Governor by effectively “hammering” away at the Baron a bit early to let him get a taste of his own Medicine, if anything, and send a message to br that this is only the beginning…
PQ has several Million himself in the Coffers already, with several MORE millions more coming his way before long, as WELL as a TON of experienced Supporters and Campaign Workers (the “ARMY”) just waiting in the wings to jump into the trenches to help him when the time is right and ripe–and when they do, br will come to the realization of the sheer POWer and persuasive TALent of all those folks as he LIKEwise will tune in daily/nightly on TV and Radio to hear/see his OWN name being slammed while the accomplishments of the Comeback Kid Quinn are touted via those same Million$, and it should hit Rauner like a ton of bricks, (just like it did to the “shocked, “what happened?” Rich Boy Mitt Romney, again the kind of guy who actually believes naively that MONEY alone can BUY you ANYthing, even the Illinois Governorship–maybe in some OTHer States, but not HERE, fella, ‘cuz People in the Land of Lincoln see right THRU that stuff), on Election Night this NoVEMber when the push LIKEly puts Quinn over the top once again…
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 8:21 pm
- DuPage -,
All I can do is play the games on the schedule, as they are scheduled. The ILSC is going to rule at some point. The calendar has a Primary and a General Election also on the schedule.
Your points are noted. I get it. But for me, I play the ges on the schedule, as scheduled. I will let the schedule play, and when the game presents itself, I’ll play it, and not before its scheduled.
I can’t make the ILSC rule, one way or the other, or dictate when that happens.
I treat this “game” this parlor game like Officer Malone in the “Untouchables”…
“You just fulfilled the first rule of Political Discussion: make sure when you are done making your case, you go home and walk away from it. Politics is not life, just a part of life. Here endeth the lesson.”
And for our discussion;
“Don’t wait for it to happen. Don’t even want it to happen. Just watch what does happen.”
Much respect.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Feb 25, 14 @ 8:44 pm