* Illinois Campaign for Political Reform…

When asked by ICPR about the role they think an attorney general should play in promoting or obstructing President Trump’s agenda, Democratic campaigns responded with a common trend: they believe they are on the “front lines” in blocking the President’s actions.

Senator Raoul highlighted the need to hold the President accountable in areas of voting rights, healthcare reform, and education policy. Pat Quinn’s campaign said the Illinois Attorney General “must resist” the President’s agenda. Jesse Ruiz commented, “it is absolutely the Attorney General’s responsibility to block” many aspects of Trump’s agenda, and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering vowed to act as a “watchdog.”

Sharon Fairley and Renato Mariotti both employed battlefield metaphors to describe the relationship between the Attorney General’s office and President Trump. These campaigns described the Attorney General as “on the front lines,” acting as “a first line of defense” against components of the President’s agenda, which they labeled as “radical,” “an unrelenting attack on our rights,” and “unconstitutional and regressive.”

The campaigns specifically cited immigration policy, minority rights, and environmental and consumer protections as primary areas of disagreement with President Trump.

Notably, Scott Drury’s response was more muted, saying, “To the extent any person’s policies or agenda – including the President’s – threatens [Constitutional] rights and liberties, I will fight to ensure [Illinois residents] are protected.”

Campaigns for Erika Harold (R) and Aaron Goldstein (D) did not provide a comment in response to ICPR’s request.

* Fundraising…

While Democratic candidates are mostly unified in their perceived role on the “battlefield,” the sources they have tapped to fund their campaigns vary widely.

Self-funding has emerged as a trend in this race. Although Jesse Ruiz has raised the most money since announcing his candidacy, without the $100,000 loan he made to his campaign in October, Ruiz would fall to the sixth spot in that ranking. Sharon Fairley has contributed $120,000 tor her campaign, representing a majority of her $180,000 in contributions. The table below shows fundraising by all candidates since announcing their candidacy.

Additionally, Chicago Committeeman Aaron Goldstein has loaned his campaign a total of $75,000, collecting only $7,500 from outside sources. Attorney Renato Mariotti also donated $10,000 to his campaign.

Erika Harold’s campaign has relied heavily on support from the Illinois Republican Party. The state party’s in-kind contributions account for 30% of Harold’s funding, mainly by providing consultants and media production for the campaign. An assortment of businesses, political committees, and individuals contributed the rest of Harold’s campaign funds.

Similarly, Senator Raoul has collected most of his campaign contributions from political committees representing a host of interests including labor groups, trade associations, and specific businesses. Raoul also received his largest contribution ($25,000) from Citizens for Antonio Munoz, the campaign committee of Democratic State Senator Tony Munoz.

In contrast, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering leads the field in fundraising from individual donors - every contribution since she announced her run for Attorney General was from an individual. The profile of Rotering’s donors is wide-ranging, including individuals from various professions, although most of them live in Highland Park.

Jesse Ruiz and Sharon Fairley have also been successful in soliciting individual donations, albeit not on the same scale as Rotering. Besides the loan he made to his campaign, Ruiz’s remaining $85,000 came largely from attorneys, executives, and investment bankers, along with a $1,000 donation from State Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman. However, Fairley’s contributors are mainly listed as self-employed or retired in her filings.

Democratic State Representative Scott Drury and former Governor Pat Quinn sit at the bottom of the fundraising list. Despite his lackluster fundraising since announcing his candidacy, Drury remains comfortably in second place for total funds raised this year. This is due to his more aggressive fundraising during his run for governor earlier in the year, which he ended to join the attorney general’s race. Since he garnered contributions earlier in the year, he could not collect more money from the same donors due to contribution limits.

Quinn, who joined the race on October 27, retains $289,000 in his campaign committee from his unsuccessful 2014 re-election campaign. Quinn has not reported any donations since announcing his run for Illinois Attorney General.

* The chart…