 As of Thursday afternoon, many candidates had not submitted their
comprehensive reports to the Federal Elections Commission, which
collects and displays the reports online.Those vying for a
high-profile office like U.S. senator or U.S. representative can
wield a successful period of campaign fundraising as a sign of
political strength.
Candidates require huge sums of money to build on their own
platforms or launch scathing attack advertisements against their
opponents, according to Jim Nowlan, a Knox College political science
professor and former Illinois congressman.
"Very few candidates have enough money to effectively define both
themselves and their opponents, and so they have to try and
determine which it is that they need to do," he said.
But Cyndi Canary, head of the Illinois Campaign for Political
Reform, said voters are looking for more than massive campaign war
chests.
"We often forget that the candidate that is the most effective
fundraiser isn't always the most effective communicator and isn't
always the winner," she said.
Democratic state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and five-term
Republican congressman Mark Kirk are vying to replace the appointed
Roland Burris in the U.S. Senate.
For the 2010 quarter that ended in June, Kirk raised $2.3
million, according to his campaign. The campaign also indicated Kirk
had $3.9 million in his campaign fund at his disposal.
Giannoulias raised more than $900,000 over the second quarter of
2010, according to campaign spokeswoman Kathleen Strand, and has
about $1 million to spend on the race.
Strand said the Giannoulias campaign is committed to an earlier
promise of refusing contributions from federal lobbyists and
corporations.
Canary said the move was a political gamble.
"It is a financial move that he is doing that puts him, I
suppose, at some financial risk. But it is also a way to try to
signal to voters what kind of senator he thinks he would be or try
to be," she said.
Both candidates are dealing with recent political fallout.
Giannoulias has had to answer questions regarding the closure of his
family's bank in Chicago, while Kirk has apologized for previous
exaggerations on his service as a Navy reservist.
Nowlan said both candidates are using their fundraising abilities
to divert attention away from questions on their integrity.
"They're trying to offset (questions of character) with money
credibility that will show the ... major contributors that indeed
they can overcome one weakness with another strength," he said.
All of the state's 19 congressional seats are up for grabs this
election, but only a few seats will host competitive races.
Mark Kirk's decision to run for Senate means there is no
incumbent for Illinois' 10th Congressional District. The contest,
which pits Democrat Dan Seals against Republican Robert Dold, is
garnering nationwide attention from national Democrats looking to
seize on Kirk's departure.
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The race for campaign money is tight. Seals, a Wilmette business
consultant, collected more than $556,000 for the second quarter,
according to campaign spokeswoman Aviva Gibbs. He now has $792,000
to spend on the race.
Seals ran twice against Kirk, in 2006 and 2008, but lost both
times.
Dold, a business owner who resides in Kenilworth, raised more
than $561,000 in the second quarter and has about $724,000 to spend
on the race, according to campaign spokeswoman Kelly Klopp.
The 10th Congressional District encompasses Chicago's north
suburbs, stretching from Waukegan in the northern part of the
district down to Winnetka and much of Arlington Heights in the
southern part.
First-term Democratic congresswoman Debbie Halvorson could face a
stiff challenger in Republican Adam Kinzinger for the state's 11th
Congressional District.
Halvorson, a former state senator, reported earnings of about
$300,000 in the second quarter of 2010, according to her campaign.
She now has $1.4 million in her campaign fund.
Kinzinger, a former McLean County Board member and current Air
Force captain, collected about $325,000 in the same quarter of 2010.
He now has $480,000 to spend on the campaign.
The 11th Congressional District includes some of Chicago's
southern suburbs, the Bloomington-Normal area as well as the
Ottawa-Streator area.
Just to the north is the 14th Congressional District, which will
likely feature another tight race.
Republicans are hoping that their challenger, Illinois state Sen.
Randy Hultgren, will unseat incumbent Democratic congressman Bill
Foster.
Neither campaign had campaign contribution numbers available as
of Thursday afternoon.
The 14th District stretches across north-central Illinois, from
Aurora and Oswego in the eastern part and stopping just short of the
Quad-Cities to the west.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By KEVIN LEE]
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