Shah topped GOP congressional rivals in fourth-quarter fundraising, records show
Republican congressional candidate Dr. Sapan Shah's fundraising efforts ahead of the March primary election are dwarfing those of his two rivals in the 10th District GOP race, new documents show.
Shah, of Libertyville, collected $337,545 in campaign donations during the fourth quarter of 2017, according to financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. In stark contrast, rival Jeremy Wynes of Highland Park reported $67,357 in donations during the same period, while Doug Bennett of Deerfield reported receiving $20,411 from supporters.
The amount Shah personally donated to his campaign - $100,000 - was larger than the combined sum of all of his rivals' receipts.
However, incumbent U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider outraised all of them in the fourth quarter.
The Deerfield Democrat received about $526,282 during that three-month period, his disclosure report showed, and he finished the year with $1.8 million saved for his November showdown against whoever wins the GOP primary.
The candidates' financial reports are available at fec.gov. The deadline to file fourth-quarter reports was Wednesday night.
Shah, the senior vice president of a health care company, was his campaign's biggest financial supporter during the quarter. His donation represented nearly a third of the total cash his campaign committee received.
He also received a $5,000 donation from a political action committee representing a medical malpractice insurer called The Doctors Company, records show. All of his other donations came from individual supporters.
Shah spent $41,477 on his campaign during the quarter. He finished the year with nearly $602,017 saved.
Shah said his fundraising efforts show he's the front-runner in the race.
"I'm ready to fight against entrenched (Washington,) D.C., politicians and put the American people back in charge of their government," he said in a news release.
Wynes, the former Midwest director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, actually spent more than he received during the quarter. His campaign expenses totaled more than $70,722, records show.
Among the checks Wynes cashed was one for $1,000 from a political action committee representing Lathrop & Gage, a Chicago law firm.
Wynes didn't personally contribute to his campaign this quarter, although he has in the past. He ended the year with nearly $216,632 saved for the primary election.
In a statement, Wynes claimed he's raised more money from 10th District residents than his opponents.
"I am very confident we will have the resources we need to win," Wynes said.
Bennett, a computer consultant who unsuccessfully ran for the Lake County Board in 2012, personally donated $12,150 to his campaign - an amount that was more than half his total receipts. He reported no support from political action committees during the quarter.
Like Wynes, Bennett's spending outpaced his receipts during the quarter. He reported more than $33,293 in expenses.
Bennett finished the year with nearly $101,633 saved.
Despite lagging significantly behind the two other Republicans in the race, Bennett said he's "well-positioned" for the primary.
"Our grassroots campaign of volunteers have knocked on thousands of doors across the 10th Congressional District," he said. "We have the right message, resources, strategy and ground support built to be successful on Election Day."
As for Schneider, more than one-fourth of his donations in the quarter came from political action committees, including ones representing Walgreens, CVS Health, Planned Parenthood, Google and Target.
A Schneider representative declined to comment on the filing.
The 10th District includes parts of Cook and Lake counties. It stretches from Lake Michigan into the North and Northwest suburbs.