Republican Illinois legislative candidates whose place on the November ballot is at issue in an ongoing court case have raised very little money for their campaigns, finance reports released this week show.
The candidates are on the ballot due to to a judge in June ruling unconstitutional a measure pushed by Democrats that would prevent political parties from slating legislative candidates for the November general election in contests where they had not fielded a contender in the March primary. The case is still on appeal, meaning candidates could still be knocked off the ballot by November.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the legislation shortly after it was passed, essentially minimizing Republican opposition and giving Democrats an advantage in some general election races before any votes were cast. The court case challenging the law was brought by the conservative Chicago-based Liberty Justice Center on behalf of Republicans who were circulating candidacy petitions for the November ballot when Pritzker signed the measure.
Campaign finance records indicate that while more than a dozen Republican candidates may have been granted a second chance by the judge’s ruling, their campaigns still face an uphill battle against Democrats in the fall.
None of the 15 Republican General Assembly candidates who filed to run after the law took effect reported having raised significant money. Those candidates include challengers to Democratic Reps. Anna Moeller of Elgin and La Shawn Ford of Chicago, as well as a challenger to Sen. Mary Edly-Allen of Libertyville.
Each of the incumbent Democrats in those races reported having thousands or tens of thousands of dollars at their disposal.
One Republican candidate who’s faring better is Jay Keevan of Edwardsville, who filed his candidacy papers with the State Board of Elections after the legislation passed in the state House but before Pritzker signed the measure into law. Because of his timing, he wouldn’t have necessarily been affected by the ban, but his race against downstate Rep. Katie Stuart, also of Edwardsville, was seen by some Republicans as emblematic of the Democrats’ quest to protect downstate seats seen as vulnerable.
Keevan’s campaign fund has raised $23,000 since he filed for the race, records show.
The latest campaign finance disclosures — covering April through June — showed significant fundraising in some more competitive general election races. Tosi Ufodike, a Republican challenging freshman Democratic Rep. Nabeela Syed for a northwest suburban seat, raised more than $10,000 in the past quarter and reported $68,000 in the bank; Syed reported a war chest of nearly $400,000 with nearly $22,000 raised this past quarter, and has since raised thousands more in large-dollar donations.
Democratic Rep. Mary Beth Canty, another freshman, reported raising $32,000 in the same period, while her challenger, Republican Michele Hunter, raised more than $13,000.