Democrat Hamos holds fundraising edge in 10th Dist.
The Democratic and Republican races for the suburban 10th Congressional District seat are crowded, but one candidate has broken away from the pack when it comes to campaign fundraising.
Democratic state Rep. Julie Hamos collected more than $547,300 between July 1 and Sept. 30, newly released federal records show. That's far more than the totals reported by any of the other candidates.
Hamos campaign manager Julie Sweet was excited about her candidate's swollen coffers.
"These numbers are particularly impressive because we were only raising money for nine weeks," Sweet said in a news release. "(People) trust Julie Hamos to stand up for what is right."
Winnetka businessman Dick Green led the Republicans' fundraising efforts by collecting about $304,192 during the period.
Elizabeth Coulson, a Glenview Republican now serving in the state House, reported collecting more than $128,000. Fellow Republican Bill Cadigan of Winnetka reported roughly $37,100 in campaign donations.
As for the other Democrats, Elliot Richardson collected $57,986, records show.
Three other candidates had not filed financial disclosure reports with the Federal Election Commission as of late Thursday afternoon. Thursday was the deadline for federal candidates to submit the documents.
The 10th District includes much of the North Shore and some Northwest suburbs in Cook and Lake counties. Republican Mark Kirk of Highland Park now holds the post but is leaving the House to run for U.S. Senate.
The Democrats in the race are: Hamos, who recently moved to Wilmette from Evanston; Richardson, an attorney from Highland Park; and Dan Seals, a Wilmette resident who twice lost to Kirk.
The Richardson campaign isn't concerned about Hamos' fundraising lead.
"It's something we expected from Julie," Richardson spokesman Eric Quintanilla said. "As the campaign goes on, we'll be able to get that name recognition and get more and more support."
A Seals spokesman said the campaign planned to submit a fundraising report to the FEC Thursday night.
In addition to Green, Cadigan and Coulson, Kenilworth business owner Robert Dold and recent Mount Prospect mayoral candidate Patricia Bird are running as Republicans.
Green campaign manager Chris Hansen said his candidate's report shows he'll have the resources needed to compete.
A Cadigan spokesman blamed his relatively weak showing on the timing of his campaign launch in late September, right before the quarter ended.
A Dold representative said his candidate planned to file a disclosure report, but none was on record as of Thursday afternoon.
Bird said she didn't file a report because she didn't hit an established $5,000 threshold.
Federal disclosure reports can be viewed at fec.gov.
The 2010 primary election is Feb. 2. The 2010 general election is Nov. 2.