More heat on Raja
Tuesday, Dec 9, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here if you need it. Tina Sfondeles…
U.S. Senate candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi on Monday said he might “revisit” contributions from Shyam Sankar, a prolific Republican campaign contributor who is chief technology officer for Palantir, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor.
That was after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Krishnamoorthi, who has raised $24 million for his Senate bid, has accepted more than $90,000 in contributions from key Trump and MAGA contributors including Sankar. Palantir has a $30 million contract with ICE to provide tools to track self-deportation. The company has been an ICE contractor since 2011.
This year alone, Sankar has given at least $260,000 to Republican political causes, including $250,000 to the Republican National Committee. He also has contributed $29,300 to Schaumburg Democrat Krishnamoorthi, a U.S. representative, since 2015, including $3,500 to his Senate campaign committee in June. […]
The congressman called ICE operations “disconcerting” [on CNN] but said, “Nobody’s more anti-MAGA than me.
Click here for the CNN exchange. Sankar’s federal campaign contributions are here. A few Democrats are on that long list, but it’s mostly Republicans.
* Coincidentally (not), some oppo was tossed over the transom yesterday…
Stratton’s Campaign Took Nearly $40,000, Or 2% Of Her Fundraising, From MAGA & Trump Donors
HIGHLIGHTS:
Since announcing her bid for Senate, Juliana Stratton has lagged behind in fundraising but has managed to take in more than $40,000 from donors who have given generously to MAGA and Trump-aligned candidates, including donors to Trump himself.
Stratton’s donors have given to a range of Trump-endorsed GOP candidates and MAGA extremists, ranging from now Trump Secretary of State Marco Rubio, January 6th inciter Josh Hawley, and Senator Ted Cruz.
Stratton’s donors have also given to current GOP leadership, including both Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Three Stratton donors are mega MAGA donors and have given over $100,000 each to Republican candidates across the country.
The “MAGA/Stratton” donor list is here. The list includes a solidly Democratic Statehouse lobbyist who’s made a couple of Republican contributions. Color me unconvinced.
Another Stratton contributor on the list, Jason Marquis, has contributed to Illinois US Reps. Eric Sorensen, Nikki Budzinski and Brad Schneider. Ope.
* That oppo dump prompted this scorching response from Lt. Gov. Stratton’s campaign…
Krishnamoorthi’s donors are active participants in Trump’s authoritarian regime — profiting off ICE’s terror campaign in Chicago, authoring the playbook to dismantle the federal government, and capitulating to Trump to line their own pockets. These are not just donors who have supported Republicans in the past. He’s taken $30,000 from the CTO of a company that is helping to deport people faster, not to mention the $5,000 he took directly from SpaceX and tried to quietly return. He’s desperate to detract from his laundry list of MAGA donors, because he knows that he’s spent ten years putting fundraising first and Illinoisans last.
* On the one hand, there’s that old saying from former California Assembly Speaker Jesse “Big Daddy” Unruh…
If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, [have, um, relations with] their women, take their money and then vote against them, you’ve got no business being up here.
Obviously, some people don’t vote against those folks after receiving the full treatment. That list of infamy is quite long. And party leadership (not just here, but everywhere) almost never does anything about it.
But, lefty Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) has received contributions from the Illinois Policy Institute. Does that make her an anti-union legislator who wants to slash the state budget and get rid of pensions?
Nope. Not even close. Just the opposite.
* Also, these are miniscule amounts for both US Senate candidates. But, really, Palantir? My own opinion is Raja should dump that hot potato as quickly as possible. That little bit of cash just isn’t worth the heat. He actually should’ve done it before appearing on CNN, to avoid a third story in the cycle, which is pretty much inevitable now.
* Your thoughts?
- Excitable Boy - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:11 am:
With all the money he has it’s insane for Raja to let this snowball. The Stratton list is laughable.
- Save Ferris - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:15 am:
If they don’t take the money, it’s going to MAGA candidates. Take it and, as noted, vote against them. Or, take it and with the access they’ve bought, persuade the donors to give less to MAGA and more to reasonable candidates.
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:16 am:
–
If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, [have, um, relations with] their women, take their money and then vote against them, you’ve got no business being up here.
–
That’s exactly correct, in every possible way.
All donations ever show is who wants to buy potential influence.
The actual influence bought or not bought with that money is still up to a decision made by the candidate.
I’ll take my opponents money all day, every day. After all, it’s less money my opponents could use on something else. If they get angry about my not giving them any influence for their money, then they can stop giving me their money. They will not be getting any refunds.
I’ve never really cared who donates to whom. It might point to a correlation in actions taken later, and it might not. It’s that action later part that is far more important. Everyone shows who they are eventually, and nobody can be absolutely certain before that happens no matter how great the candidate appears. Let their actions define them, not their money or where it comes from.
- Jolietj - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:16 am:
Raja’s positive earned media streak seems to be ending.
It’s been an impressive earned media operation
- Jolietj - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:18 am:
“Take their money and vote against them” isn’t how the system works. It’s actually take their money and make sure what they’re opposed to never makes it to the Board for people to have to vote against.
- Leslie Dimas - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:36 am:
He said he MIGHT look into it. This is a contractor with an active ICE contract.
How is it that for years we as Democrats can spot anti abortion and anti LGBTQIA donors from a mile away, but when it comes to immigration the reaction is suddenly just “meh”? Raja has more than enough resources to know better.
What will it take for people to care? Children no longer walk to school with their parents. Groceries are delivered because families are afraid to leave home. Catholic Mass is streamed online. An entire community is living under COVID era conditions because their businesses are collapsing and workers are scared to show up. And he MIGHT review it?
This is deeply insulting to immigrants, especially Mexican Americans. How are we supposed to know our community is safe around Raja now? How do we know he has not already called ICE on families in our neighborhoods? There are too many unanswered questions.
- SAP - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:48 am:
I’d make a big show of donating the contribution to the ACLU, an immigrant rights organization, or some such cause.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 9:58 am:
This is a legit hit on Raja, but will only stick if Stratton can put some money into it. Palantir is a good bogeyman to tie to Raja, however loose the actual connection.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 10:03 am:
Haven’t seen a reference to Big Daddy in a long time. He would have done alright in Springfield…
- City Zen - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 10:15 am:
==But isn’t it more likely it is one Indian guy giving to an Indian candidate?==
Considering Sankar contributed over $15,000 to Ro Khanna over the years, you’re probably onto something.
- NIU Grad - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 10:21 am:
Raja’s entire tenure has been about raising money. It’s second nature to him. The fact that he’s so hesitant to dump funds from this piggy-bank reveals a major blind spot/stubborn streak. I hope the other two candidates have a good way to frame this: Will he be serving as a Senator, or is this just another fundraising opportunity for Raja?
The fact that the “oppo” on Stratton didn’t specifically call anyone out was a major red flag.
- Still Meh. . . - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 10:25 am:
==Considering Sankar contributed over $15,000 to Ro Khanna over the years, you’re probably onto something.==
Lol City Zen. Thank you for looking it up. It felt like something obvious to me. Good to know there is evidence to support my hunch.
- Crispy - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 10:39 am:
@Leslie Dimas is correct; that the Palantir money (especially) only reads as business as usual to political types doesn’t expunge the fact that it is highly symbolic–and not in a good way–to people in immigrant communities, and especially to the growing (13 percent and counting) demographic of Illinois Hispanic/Latino voters, who are outraged by the association, and understandably so.
WaPo had a good story over the weekend about the experiences and reactions of Chicago-area Latinos who were wrongfully nabbed, assaulted and detained by federal immigration agents, despite being U.S. citizens. The rage at the way they’ve been treated by their own country is visceral. Raja should read that and similar reporting, give it a good think, and come up with something a whole heck of a lot better than “disconcerting” as a response.
What’s happening right now to Latinos, and immigrants generally, under the Trump regime invites associations with the government’s internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. It’s a foul stain on our nation, and one that needs to be addressed head on.
Because of that association, fair or not, Palantir money will, for the foreseeable future, be seen as blood money by a significant chunk of the electorate.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 10:48 am:
I have long thought campaign contributions are legalized bribery, but even though this is a relatively small amount to Raja, he should give it the ozone–the sooner the better.
It would be difficult to justify keeping it in a short TV commercial. Not a good look.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 10:52 am:
===contributed over $15,000 to Ro Khanna over the years, you’re probably onto something===
That may have as much to do with the fact that Khanna represents Silicon Valley.
- Still Meh. . . - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 11:00 am:
Rich do you know a lot of Indian Americans? A lot of them are crazy proud of each other. True in many ethnic groups actually.
I’m sticking with my hunch.
- City Zen - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 11:05 am:
==That may have as much to do with the fact that Khanna represents Silicon Valley.==
Absolutely. Khanna also sits on a number of congressional committees adjacent to Panaltir interests.
So is the individual or company that is off limits? Because the Palantir employees PAC contributed to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 11:07 am:
===Rich do you know a lot of Indian Americans?===
Oh for Pete’s sake. I didn’t say that the location was the sole reason, I said it likely had a lot to do with it.
- DuPage Saint - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 11:27 am:
Thought that saying about taking money etc and voting against them was Sam Rayburn
- 44 - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 11:45 am:
I don’t think it’s crazy to associate local ICE activity and palantir’s facial recognition technology. I wonder how they keep nabbing people, getting a facial hit seems likely.
- Proud Sucker - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 11:59 am:
“Thought that saying about taking money etc and voting against them was Sam Rayburn”
I believe you are thinking about Sen Arnold Vinick, R - California.
- Think again - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 1:01 pm:
=But, really, Palantir?=
Palantir is the #1 AI-related data integration and analysis software company in the world. They have over $ 2 billion in government contracts, including DOD, HHS, Justice, DOE, State, and Transportation. They are like the new IBM. To single out 30 million, which is equivalent to a rounding error, is silly.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/04/tech-trillion-dollars-palantir-techscape
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 1:11 pm:
===To single out 30 million, which is equivalent to a rounding error, is silly. ===
Have you never watched a campaign before?
- Dotnonymous x - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 1:15 pm:
For sale politicians got us right where we are…the system is the problem…but who wants to hear that?
- Give Us Barabbas - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 1:33 pm:
Would your answer to this question have been different before Citizens United?
- Cog - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 2:01 pm:
“They are like the new IBM.”
Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. Some of us remember who IBM sold their punch card processing technology to and what those cards were used for 85 years ago and don’t find that comparison particularly reassuring.
- Boone's is Back - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 2:14 pm:
How is the Illinois Policy Institute able to make campaign contributions, even via a PAC? Isn’t it a not for profit?
- CapnCrunch - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 2:16 pm:
“….palantir’s facial recognition technology…”
ICE doesn’t use Palantir facial recognition technology. Palantir doesn’t make facial recognition technology. They may use it if provided from security and monitoring systems. The technology used by ICE is provided by Clearview AI.
- Keyrock - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 2:56 pm:
Still asking - has Raja ever fought for anything in Congress - except donations?
- Dotnonymous x - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 3:41 pm:
Palantir’s Chairman of the Board?…Peter Thiel.
- Nope. - Tuesday, Dec 9, 25 @ 7:34 pm:
Michael Cassidy is just being the effective lobbyist he is. A good man doing a great job for his clients. I’m sure the LTG was happy to see support from a good friend.
Nothing burger oppo dump. Just proves that the conclusion the list suggests; is highly questionable.
- Now I’m down in it. - Wednesday, Dec 10, 25 @ 1:19 am:
Raja is my congressman. Both of his offices are staffed with sharp folks who care a lot about helping people. They go above and beyond for constituents. Who someone hires says a lot about them as a person. I’m on the same page as Raja about 80% of the time. And the issues we disagree on aren’t dealbreakers for me.
Raja has been a great congressman and, in my opinion, deserves a promotion. I don’t think badly of the others who are running, it’s that I’ve already been a Raja constituent and I’d prefer to stay one.
- Chat_BP3 - Wednesday, Dec 10, 25 @ 3:10 pm:
“Who someone hires says a lot about them as a person.”
How they treat those people also says a lot about them.
- Anan - Wednesday, Dec 10, 25 @ 5:57 pm:
Raja is about Raja. Always has been, always will be.