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Dold entered April with big fundraising lead in U.S. House race, reports show

U.S. Rep. Robert Dold has a commanding fundraising lead over Democratic challenger Brad Schneider in the race for the suburban 10th District seat, newly released records show.

Dold raised $390,252 last month and had more than $1.6 million saved for his battle against Schneider as of March 31, according to his latest Federal Election Commission financial disclosure report.

That's more than seven times the roughly $226,200 Schneider's campaign had in the bank at the end of the month.

Schneider raised $268,867 in March, reports showed, but his team spent nearly all of that sum during the month to win a tough four-way race for the Democratic nomination.

Dold ran unopposed for the GOP nod.

The 10th District includes parts of Lake and Cook counties. It stretches from Lake Michigan into the North and Northwest suburbs.

The GOP has held the seat since 1980, but the district - long known for splitting ballots - was redrawn last year to include more traditionally Democratic areas and to eliminate some Republican-leaning neighborhoods.

Candidates for federal office must regularly file disclosure reports with the FEC. They're available for public review at fec.gov.

Dold, a pest-control company owner from Kenilworth, was elected in 2010 and is seeking a second term. As of March 31, he had raised $2.2 million over the entire election cycle, according to his FEC report.

Notable Dold donors during March included:

Ÿ Bancorp President Stephen M. Calk, $2,500

Ÿ Craig J. Duchossois, CEO of the Duchossois Group, $2,500

Ÿ Northbrook Mayor Sandra Frum, $100.

Ÿ Chicago Mercantile Exchange President Phupinder S. Gill, $2,000.

Ÿ Former 10th District Republican Congressman John Porter, $1,000.

In a news release, Dold said he was honored by the support his campaign has received.

"(I) look forward to growing our team in the new parts of Illinois 10th District," he said.

Dold also received thousands of dollars in donations from political action committees representing a variety of corporations and groups last month. They included:

Ÿ The National Republican Congressional Committee, $5,000.

Ÿ The American Bankers Association, $2,000.

Ÿ Exxon Mobil Corp., $2,500.

Ÿ Boeing Co., $2,000.

Ÿ The Ford Motor Co.'s Civic Action Fund, $1,000.

Dold's campaign spent about $47,226 last month on parade supplies, consulting, staff salaries and other items. A $2,000 purchase for tickets to a Mitt Romney presidential campaign event was recorded, too.

Team Dold reported having more than $66,851 in debt.

Dold campaign spokesman John McGovern acknowledged the race against Schneider will be tough and costly.

A Republican campaign veteran who also worked with now-Sen. Mark Kirk when he ran for the House, McGovern declined to estimate how much the candidates will spend before Election Day.

"We will continue to be aggressive and seek additional support," he said.

Schneider, a management consultant from Deerfield, is making his first bid for elected office. As of March 31, his campaign had raised $934,585 for the entire election cycle, according to his FEC report.

Notable donors who sent checks to Schneider in March included:

Ÿ Lester Crown, chairman of the Henry Crown and Co. investment firm, $2,500.

Ÿ Former state Rep. Lauren Beth Gash, $250.

Ÿ Julie Hamos, the former lawmaker who now leads the state's Department of Healthcare and Family Services, $750.

Ÿ Former U.S. Sen. Adlai E. Stevenson III, $500.

Ÿ Jay Robert Pritzker, managing partner of the Pritzker group, $2,500.

Political action groups supporting Schneider last month included:

Ÿ A professional group for lawyers called the American Association for Justice, $10,000.

Ÿ The campaign committee for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, $2,000.

Ÿ The campaign committee for Democratic U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, which backed Schneider in the primary and gave $2,000.

Ÿ The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, $2,500.

Team Schneider also received $250 from the campaign committee for ex-candidate Ilya Sheyman, who was Schneider's chief rival in the Democratic primary. That donation was made after Schneider won the nomination.

Schneider has invested in his campaign, too, loaning the effort $100,000, reports showed. He could not be reached for comment.

Schneider spent more than $87,000 on cable TV advertising for the March 20 primary election, his disclosure report showed. The campaign also reported paying workers who were part of a door-to-door voter drive, among other expenditures.

Overall, Schneider's campaign spent more than $252,406 last month, reports showed.

Schneider's campaign reported more than $140,543 in debt as of March 31. That includes $8,000 owed to former campaign manager Jarrod Backous and thousands of dollars to other staffers.

Backous left the campaign this month because his wife is expecting their first child. New campaign chief Reed Adamson isn't worried about the campaign's finances.

"I'm confident that we'll have the resources we need to get our message out and win in November," Adamson said. "We're proud of the broad base of support that we are building after winning the primary just a few short weeks ago."

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Republican U.S. Rep. Robert Dold
Democratic candidate Brad Schneider
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