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Dold has $1.5 million cash on hand advantage over Schneider

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Illinois

* Press release…

The Dold for Congress campaign today released impressive early fundraising numbers for Q1 2016, as Bob Dold heads into the General Election.

Strong support from Illinois donors contributed to Dold’s incredible $730,000 raised for the first quarter, which also puts Dold’s Cash on Hand at nearly $2 million.

“From backing massive Medicare cuts to breaking his promise to oppose the disastrous agreement that gives Iran a green light to fund terrorism and build nuclear weapons, the 2016 version of Brad Schneider is proving to be even more desperate and dishonest than the Brad Schneider that voters fired in 2014. That’s why 10th District voters are demonstrating unprecedented support for Bob Dold and his record of effective, independent leadership that serves the entire 10th District—rather than the party bosses and D.C. special interests that own Brad Schneider,” said Dold for Congress spokeswoman Danielle Hagen.

* Press release…

Following the March 15th primary election, Democrat Brad Schneider enters the race against Republican Bob Dold in a very strong position. Schneider will build for November from a solid foundation. After an 8-point win in the primary, Schneider has more than half a million dollars already on hand for the general, a massive volunteer and donor network, a robust field program, and an established record with voters as a principled, proven leader for the Tenth District.

As in 2012 when Schneider beat Dold by more than 3,000 votes, 2016 turnout will greatly exceed midterm numbers with presidential and U.S. Senate races at the top of the ticket. Historically in presidential years, nearly 100,000 more voters turn out in IL-10. The electorate trends younger and more diverse than in midterms, which favors Democrats. This was evident in this year’s primary as 94,758 ballots were cast in the Democratic congressional primary, nearly as many as the 95,992 TOTAL votes Dold received in the 2014 General Election.

Even though Schneider won in 2012, 2016 shapes up to be an even stronger year for him in at least three ways:

* The Governor of Illinois, Republican Bruce Rauner, is unpopular.
* In 2012, Schneider won a difficult primary and emerged with just $226,000 on hand and a donor base of 1,000 individuals. In 2016, Schneider starts the General Election with a donor base of more than 14,500 and more than $525,000 in the bank.
* Schneider is now well known throughout the district, a fact only bolstered by the Democratic primary.

In Q1 of this year, Brad raised more than $818,000, a number that will almost certainly again rank him among the top congressional fundraisers in the nation. The average donation of just $48 and a median donation of $10 both reflect the depth and breadth of the grassroots campaign we have built. This strong showing, along with a base of low dollar donors who will continue to contribute in the months ahead, will serve as the basis for successful fundraising through November, providing the necessary resources to effectively communicate with voters.

It is already shaping up to be a difficult year for Republicans, and national news outlets continue to report on Republican Bob Dold’s tough path forward. The difficult national climate for Republicans is further exacerbated by the top of the ticket in Illinois. During 2014, Dold himself proclaimed far and wide that the top of the ticket had the ability to drag down a candidate in the Tenth District. This will surely hit home for him this year with the increasing unpopularity of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, and tepid support for incumbent Senator Mark Kirk.

Our race continues to be highlighted as one of the nation’s most competitive. In a race this close, every one of our advantages will make the difference. We look forward to building on our strong foundation in the weeks and months to come to secure victory in November.

All emphasis added.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 2:24 pm

Comments

Both of these guys are terrible.

Comment by Tone Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 2:51 pm
I really thought this would generate some comments. Oh well.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 3:09 pm
Will Schneider disclose his income tax returns in this campaign?

Comment by New Trier East, RIP Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 3:10 pm
Unless we get a budget, I suspect a few Republicans who thought they were impregnable will go down, even south of I-80. Everyone who actually understands the state constitution understands that the governor and his party are responsible for this so now they will pay the price. The primaries were just the beginning.

Comment by Chucktownian Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 3:30 pm
This is an odd cycle.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 3:44 pm
Schneider had a good first quarter but he will have to pick up the pace in order to close the COH gap with Dold.

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 3:49 pm
“Effective, independent leadership”, Bob?

For someone Paul Ryan placed in GOP leadership, you’ve clearly done so much to break the gridlock and elevate the tone of your party.

Comment by lake county Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 3:53 pm
How much is Trump or Cruz worth the Schneider?

Comment by Great Caesar's Ghost! Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 4:07 pm
Does anyone seriously think that Schneider won’t have enough money to effectively compete with Dold? Of course Dold has a material lead following the highly contested primary but that gap will close and it will close relatively quickly.

Comment by slow down Thursday, Apr 7, 16 @ 4:36 pm
Since Ab Mikva went to the DC Court of Appeals the Democrats have won this district one time in more than 30 years. Ab Mikva was a great man, I know I worked for him in Washington.

North Suburban voters deserve another strong Independent voice that will represent the voters and not the bosses.

Brad Schneider is NOT that voice, he is instead a generic Democrat who just happens to be rich, and will follow the dictates of the party bosses.

Bob Dold defied his party leadership and voted against defunding Planned Parenthood and against punishing Sanctuary Cities.

Bob Dold is the real Independent Voice in this race and deserves to be re-elected

Comment by OldIVIer Friday, Apr 8, 16 @ 2:30 am
Rauner, Trump, and Cruz will destroy marginal Republicans in swing districts.

Money will only drive outcome if the top of the ticket is competitive.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Friday, Apr 8, 16 @ 7:58 am
After his disastrous 2010 term in office, Dold learned that he actually had to represent his district, and, in his 2014 term, was allowed (or suggested) to do so on key votes where his would have no effect on the outcome. That’s not defying leadership. In fact, that’s not actually representing the wishes of his district. He cast a vote, but he didn’t lobby members of his caucus on behalf of Planned Parenthood, nor for Sanctuary Cities. If that is an “Independent Voice”, the IVI’s standards are low enough to become inconsequential. Oh, wait, they are already.

Comment by Springfieldish Friday, Apr 8, 16 @ 8:44 am