In Illinois, new reports reveal Trump Republicans’ fundraising strength

On the Democratic side, Rep. Danny Davis fundraising slows to a trickle; Rep. Lauren Underwood stockpiles millions; and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s $10 million war chest.

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Freshman Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., an unabashed Trump loyalist, is building a grassroots donor base.

Freshman Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., an unabashed Trump loyalist, is building a grassroots donor base.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Keep an eye on the fundraising ability of GOP freshman Rep. Mary Miller, the Illinois Republican in Congress who is the most unabashed Trump loyalist in the delegation.

Miller, whose far southern Illinois district is ruby red, is building a small-dollar grassroots donor base, according to the latest Federal Election Commission disclosures for July, August and September.

Illinois state Democrats released a draft of their proposed Illinois congressional remap Friday. While I’m expecting the map to be revised — more on that at the end — incumbents and challengers have been raising money based on current district lines. The Illinois primary is in June.

Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi remains the delegation top fundraiser, taking in $3,328,573 so far in the 2022 cycle with an astounding balance of $10,788,716. He’s stockpiling money for an eventual Senate run.

ADAM KINZINGER/CHRISTINA LAUF

The remap, however it ends up, presents no easy district for GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, leading a crusade against Trumpism, which has bolstered his fundraising ability. To date, he has raised $2,517,283 and has $3,351,167 cash-on-hand after spending $689,766.

Kinzinger is weighing whether to run for another term, and if he does, he will need the cash for an inevitable GOP primary with the strongest challenger so far — super Trump loyalist Christina Lauf. Leveraging anti-Kinzinger sentiment among Trumpers, she raised $809,652 and has a $216,804 balance after spending $592,847.

Lauf’s fundraising results suggest that if Kinzinger runs again, the Republican primary will be an expensive national referendum on Trump and Trumpism.

DANNY DAVIS/KINA COLLINS

No matter the remap, the district Rep. Danny Davis represents will remain Democratic, so the play in 2022 is the Democratic primary.

While Davis won in 2020 after being outspent, his fundraising has slowed to a trickle. To date this cycle, Davis raised $137,271, spent $35,201 and only has $345,912 cash-on-hand because he had campaign funds left over from 2020.

Kina Collins, Davis’ main challenger, raised $235,696 so far, about twice what she collected for the entire cycle when she ran in the 2020 primary. Collins, a former director for an anti-gun violence nonprofit, spent $129,041 and has $109,596 cash-on-hand.

MARY MILLER/DARIN LAHOOD

Miller and GOP Rep. Darin LaHood might end up in the same GOP district after the remap, so the play will be the Republican primary. While LaHood backed Trump — he was an Illinois 2020 campaign co-chair — in practice LaHood is more establishment conservative than rabid Trumper.

Miller is so much of a Trumper that the incendiary Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who is an election denier, QAnon conspiracy booster and spreader of anti-Semitic tropes, headlined a fundraiser for Miller a few months ago in Effingham.

As of Sept. 30, Miller raised $616,921, spent $303,853 and has a balance of $413,769. What is noteworthy is that most of that cash came from individual donations — with a significant amount from grassroots donors giving under $200 — and not the political action committees most incumbents depend on.

LaHood collected $1,502,419 so far this cycle, spent $658,086 and has a balance of $3,934,903. PACs — not grassroots givers — account for a big chunk of LaHood’s fundraising base.

LAUREN UNDERWOOD

No substantial GOP opponent has surfaced yet to take on Democrat Underwood, who won reelection by a point in 2020. She has a strong fundraising operation, hauling in $2,470,574 to date this cycle. After spending $1,243,422, Underwood has a balance of $1,765,060.

MARIE NEWMAN

Freshman Democrat Marie Newman, who is blasting the Democrat draft map because it throws her into a potential swing district — with Kinzinger in it to boot — raised $690,255 to date, spent $355,223 and has a balance of $437,873.

RODNEY DAVIS/NIKKI BUDZINSKI

The draft map creates a tough district for GOP Rep. Rodney Davis. Davis will have no significant GOP primary and Democrats have consolidated behind Nikki Budzinski, a veteran political operative who worked in the Biden White House and Pritzker administration.

Davis collected $1,399,670 so far this cycle, spent $488,932 and has a balance of $1,051,173.

Budzinski raised $454,305, spent $60,239 and has $394,066 cash-on-hand.

PRITZKER TEAM ‘AGNOSTIC’ ON CONGRESSIONAL MAP

“Agnostic.” That’s the word I heard Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s team used to describe their tepid reaction to the congressional draft map designed by State Senate President Don Harmon and Speaker Chris Welch. The Harmon/Welch draft created four potential underperforming swing Democratic districts — including for Newman and Underwood.

This map will be changed.

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