Schakowsky has massive fundraising edge over Cohen in 9th District race
Suburban Republican Party leaders slated Seth Cohen to take on longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District but haven’t given him much financial support.
Cohen, of Chicago, received less than $3,700 in individual campaign donations and nothing from political action committees during the year’s third quarter, his latest campaign finance report shows.
In stark contrast, Evanston’s Schakowsky reported receiving $150,311 from campaign donors during the same period, with nearly half that sum coming from political action committees representing labor unions, corporations and other entities.
Congressional candidates must regularly file financial reports with the Federal Election Commission once their campaigns collect or spend at least $5,000. Third-quarter reports covering donations received and purchases made between July 1 and Sept. 30 were due Tuesday night and can be viewed at fec.gov.
Cohen
No Republicans were on the ballot for the seat in the March primary and a write-in candidate didn’t get enough votes to qualify for the general election, which made Cohen’s nomination by GOP leaders in April possible.
Cohen for America started July with about $892 in its campaign coffers, the latest FEC report shows.
Cohen, the founder of a nonprofit group called Chicago Brigade that assists military veterans, collected nearly $3,626 in campaign donations during the quarter. Only four donations were large enough to require itemization on his report. One of those was $500 from former Illinois Republican Party Chair Don Tracy of Springfield.
Cohen’s campaign spent about $1,221 during the quarter — all on Facebook ads — and ended September with less than $3,297 saved. The campaign also reported a $100 debt to the candidate.
When asked via email about his campaign’s financial picture, Cohen said “defeating a 26-year incumbent, entrenched by gerrymandering, powerful allies, and special interests, won't happen overnight.”
Schakowsky
Schakowsky, who has represented the 9th District since 1999, was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Schakowsky for Congress started the third quarter with $867,519 saved. It reported receiving $78,606 from individuals and $71,500 from political action committees.
Donations included $2,500 from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; $1,000 from Google; $5,000 from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America; and $2,000 from the Human Rights Campaign.
After nearly $119,584 in expenses — including payroll, internet access and donations to other groups — Team Schakowsky finished the quarter with about $898,247 in the bank and no debts.
Schakowsky campaign spokesperson Ben Head called the quarter’s fundraising efforts “fairly standard.”
The 9th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. The last day to vote is Nov. 5.