Rep. Manzullo's money towers over Abboud's
An uphill race looks even steeper now with the reports that Barrington Hills Mayor Bob Abboud has raised about one-quarter the campaign cash of his opponent, U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo.
The incumbent has raised $1.3 million to keep his job in the 16th District, including about $300,000 in just the past three months. By contrast, as a Democrat in a traditionally Republican area, Abboud has taken in $350,000 overall and $168,000 in the past quarter.
About two-thirds of Manzullo's money came from individual contributions - most of them corporate executives - with the rest from political action committees.
Big businesses like Boeing, Exelon, and Caterpillar, as well as groups of manufacturers, bankers, mortgage lenders, and real estate agents contributed.
The biggest chunk of Abboud's money - $105,000 - came from his own pocket as head of his own energy consulting/engineering firm, RGA Labs Inc.
The rest of his money came from individuals, including former Attorney General Neil Hartigan, and W. Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz, of Chicago, chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks and president of the Wirtz Corp., which deals in real estate and liquor distribution.
Abboud also got $1,000 from the Arab-American Leadership Political Action Committee, his only PAC money.
Neither the Democratic nor the Republican national parties donated significant money to the candidates, suggesting party leaders do not consider it a tight race.
Both candidates spent what they took in recently, most of it for commercials on radio and cable television networks like Fox and CNN. Abboud is debuting his commercial this weekend, while Manzullo has been running ads since Labor Day.
The 16th Congressional district covers all of northwestern Illinois, stretching east to include Algonquin, Cary and Crystal Lake, but many of the ads have aired on stations in Rockford, the population center of the district.
As of the latest reporting date Sept. 30, Manzullo had more than a half-million dollars left in his war chest. Abboud was down to less than $14,000, but planned to give more of his own money to his campaign.
Abboud's spokesman Mike Carroll said his campaign remains undeterred.
"Incumbents are always beaten by candidates with less money," Carroll said. "We're facing the largest economic crisis in our lifetime, and people are looking for new ideas. Bob offers those."
Manzullo, who lives in rural Egan near Rockford, doesn't like fundraising, his spokesman Rich Carter said, but understands it's necessary.
In addition to monetary donations, Carter said he's seeing unprecedented participation from volunteers at a new Republican office in Crystal Lake.
"People recognize we're at a crossroads for where we're going to go," Carter said. "It's an incredibly challenging time for our nation."