California Holds Record
The current record-holder is the 2010 California governor’s race, which drew the most money among non-federal, statewide contests, according to data from the institute, which goes as far back as 2000. That contest included now-Democratic Governor Jerry Brown and former Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman, a Republican. It attracted $244 million in contributions, including about $144 million that Whitman gave to her campaign.
The previous record for an Illinois governor’s race was set in 2014 when Rauner and then-incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn raised a combined total of almost $123 million, according to the institute’s data.
So far, Rauner, who’s facing a Republican primary challenge from Illinois House Representative Jeanne Ives, has put $50 million of his own money into the race, state records show. Pritzker has donated $56 million to his own campaign fund and had spent $34.4 million through 2017.
“This race is about values and J.B. is the only candidate who has spent significant time crisscrossing this state and listening to the issues that matter most to Illinois families and communities,” Galia Slayen, a Pritzker spokeswoman, said in a statement when asked about how the candidate’s wealth is playing in the race. "After Bruce Rauner lurched Illinois from crisis to crisis and decimated the state’s economy, J.B. is working as hard as possible to bring people together and get this state back on track.”
Campaign contribution limits are waived in Illinois if any of the candidates contribute more than $250,000 to their own bid. Kennedy was the first to cross that threshold, in March 2017.
Pritzker told Bloomberg News in a February 2017 interview that he was willing to spend from his own personal fortune “whatever it will take to run a winning campaign.” Despite all of Pritzker’s spending, Biss has managed to move up in the few public polls that have been conducted.
Part of Pritzker’s loss of support can be attributed to a Federal Bureau of Investigation recording that was unearthed by the Chicago Tribune. On the recording, he and Blagojevich make insensitive comments about black politicians as they discussed who should fill a U.S. Senate being vacated by Barack Obama after his victory in the 2008 presidential election.
Blagojevich’s notoriety -- he was impeached before being convicted on federal charges -- makes Pritzker’s association with him even less appealing. Pritzker has apologized for his remarks on the recording.
To regain his standing, especially with black voters, he’s turned to a familiar tool: more TV ads.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.