Rep. Underwood has massive fundraising lead over GOP’s Marter
Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville has a massive fundraising lead over the perennial Republican candidate hoping to capture her 14th District seat in 2026, federal records show.
Underwood’s campaign committee ended June with nearly $1.2 million in the bank — roughly 60 times what the GOP’s Jim Marter of Oswego had put together as of the same date, according to quarterly financial reports filed last week with the Federal Election Commission.
The FEC has no financial reports from a second challenger, Democrat Roman G. Valenciano of Earlville, who aims to take on Underwood in the March primary.
Congressional candidates must regularly complete financial reports for the FEC once their campaigns collect or spend at least $5,000. Reports covering transactions made between April 1 and June 30 were due July 15 and can be viewed at fec.gov.
Underwood
Underwood first was elected to Congress in 2018. She considered running for the U.S. Senate following Dick Durbin’s retirement announcement but instead is seeking a fifth term in the House.
Underwood defeated Marter by 10 percentage points last November to retain her seat. It was her biggest margin of victory.
The Lauren Underwood for Congress committee started April with about $1.1 million in the bank.
Underwood subsequently collected nearly $520,294 during the quarter, including an estimated $428,392 from individuals. Donors from Illinois have been Underwood’s top supporters this election cycle, followed by those from California and Massachusetts, FEC data shows.
Additionally, the Underwood campaign $60,300 from political action committees, including three donations from organizations representing farmers specializing in sugar production: $5,000 from the American Crystal Sugar Co.; $1,000 from the Florida Sugar Cane League; and $2,000 from the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative.
Underwood, a registered nurse, also reported $5,000 donations from two medical associations: the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Team Underwood reported spending $459,945 in the quarter and finished June debt-free.
Marter
Marter, who works for an information technology company, is a former Oswego Public Library board member who lost campaigns for that panel and for a school board this spring.
He unsuccessfully ran for the 14th District seat in 2024, 2022 and 2020; for the 16th District seat in 2018; and for U.S. Senate in 2016. Last year was the only time he won the GOP nomination and progressed to a general election.
The Marter for Congress committee started April with $5,501 in the bank.
It subsequently collected about $21,724 in donations, all from individuals. They included Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Doug Bennett of Deerfield, who gave $2,000, records show.
Donors from Illinois have been Marter’s top supporters this cycle, followed by Florida and New York, FEC data shows.
After expenses, Team Marter finished the quarter with less than $19,678 banked and nearly $31,359 in debts to the candidate dating back to 2021, records show.
Another Republican, state Rep. Jed Davis of Newark, raised $18,907 and spent $6,251 in the quarter while exploring a Congressional campaign. Davis announced last month that he’d instead run for reelection in the state House.
Valenciano
Valenciano launched the Roman for Congress committee in late April by filing a statement of candidacy with the FEC. Although Valenciano’s campaign website solicits donations from visitors, no information is available about his fundraising activity.
The 14th District encompasses parts of Kane, Will, DeKalb, Kendall, LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam counties.