‘A solid foundation of support’: Krishnamoorthi among top fundraisers in nation’s Senate races

Not even three months into his campaign, Schaumburg Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi is running one of the best-funded U.S. Senate campaigns in the nation, federal records show.

Krishnamoorthi, who has been one of the suburban congressional delegation’s top fundraisers while representing Illinois’ 8th District since 2017, put together nearly $12.7 million between the time he entered the Senate race in early May and the end of the year’s second quarter on June 30, according to the Federal Election Commission’s fec.gov. That’s enough to rank him sixth out of more than 260 candidates.

Krishnamoorthi’s total far exceeds that of any other candidate for the seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. At least 15 people have announced their candidacies or filed candidate paperwork with the FEC.

Nationally, Krishnamoorthi’s fundraising lags well behind the roughly $42 million gathered this election cycle by Sen. Jon Ossoff, the first-term Georgia Democrat who ranks first on the FEC’s list. But Ossoff has been fundraising for the 2026 election since the cycle started in 2021.

Behind Ossoff are Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, with about $26 million in campaign receipts this cycle; Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, with nearly $17.4 million; Democratic Senate hopeful Josh Weil of Florida, with nearly $15.8 million; and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, with nearly $13.4 million.

An expensive race

Durbin, of Springfield, announced April 23 that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2026 after five terms.

The next day, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Chicago became the first Democratic candidate to announce a bid for the seat. U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson was next on May 6, and Krishnamoorthi followed May 7. Other Democrats have shown interest, too.

Republican candidates include Des Plaines resident John Goodman, Casey Chlebek of Lake Forest and Pamela Denise Long of Edwardsville. None has elected experience.

The Raja for Illinois committee reported collecting $2.3 million in donations from individuals in the campaign’s first two months; $79,250 from political action committees representing professional groups, companies and other special interests; and about $10.2 million in transfers from other committees. Nearly all of that transferred cash came from Krishnamoorthi’s congressional campaign, documents indicate.

Krishnamoorthi has put some of that money to use by being the first candidate in the race to buy costly TV ads — two, in fact.

“With growing momentum and a solid foundation of support, this campaign is built to win,” campaign manager Brexton Isaacs said in an email.

Team Krishnamoorthi reported spending $907,898 through June, and finished the quarter with nearly $11.8 million saved and no debts.

The Robin Kelly for Senate committee reported collecting nearly $2.5 million between April 1 and June 30, enough to rank her 34th on the national list.

The sum included $233,308 from individuals; $71,750 from political committees representing labor unions, companies and other special interests; and nearly $2.2 million in transfers from her congressional campaign account, corporate political action committees and other organizations, documents indicate.

After spending $253,466, Team Kelly finished June with about $2.2 million saved and no debts.

In an email to the Daily Herald, Kelly said she is excited about the campaign and where it’s headed.

“I appreciate the support I’ve already received from so many donors, colleagues and advocates,” Kelly said. “There’s much more to come.”

Stratton’s Juliana for Illinois committee reported collecting nearly $1.1 million between April 24 and June 30, which ranks her 48th on the FEC’s national list.

A little more than $1 million of those receipts came from individuals and $40,800 came from political committees, including donations from the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, state Reps. Joyce Mason of Gurnee and Daniel Didech of Buffalo Grove, and other Illinois politicians.

The Stratton campaign isn’t accepting donations from corporations, however.

“This campaign is about Illinois families, not corporate special interests,” Stratton said through a spokesperson. “Corporations are giving tens of millions of dollars to politicians, and politicians then reward those corporations. That broken system does not serve the people who I have always put front and center.”

After spending $417,286, Team Stratton finished June with more than $666,416 saved and no debts.

The others

Another Democrat, Chicagoan Kevin Ryan, ranked 95th on the FEC’s fundraising list with $12,801 raised so far.

As for the Republicans, Goodman’s campaign ranked 89th with $27,194 raised.

Chlebek’s campaign ranked 90th with $25,000 in receipts, all from the candidate, records show.

Long ranked 98th nationally with $8,631 raised.

Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, predicted national Republican organizations and GOP megadonors won’t invest in the Senate race.

Spending any money in “solidly blue” Illinois to flip an open seat held by a Democrat “would be a total waste of resources that could be better spent elsewhere,” Redfield said in an email.

Deerfield Republican Doug Bennett considered running but isn’t, he confirmed last week. Regardless, his campaign ranks 94th on the FEC’s list with $13,000 raised, nearly entirely from Bennett.

Seven additional contenders have launched campaign websites or social media pages and filed statements of candidacy with the FEC, but they haven’t turned in financial reports. Three are Democrats, two are Republicans and two are independents.

Show me the money

These are the U.S. Senate candidates who have done the most fundraising in the 2026 election cycle so far. All but Josh Weil and Raja Krishnamoorthi are incumbents.

1. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.): $42 million

2. Cory Booker (D-N.J.): $26 million

3. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): $17.4 million

4. Josh Weil (D-Fla.): $15.8 million

5. Mark Warner (D-Va.): $13.4 million

6. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.): $12.7 million

7. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.): $11.4 million

8. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.): $9.8 million

9. Bill Cassidy (R-La.): $9.3 million

10. John Cornyn (R-Texas): $8 million

· Source: fec.gov