Democrat outraising Republican rival in 58th House District race

Democrat Bob Morgan's fundraising total for the year's third quarter was more than double that of Republican Fredric Bryan "Rick" Lesser, his rival for the 58th House District seat, documents show.

Morgan, of Deerfield, collected $96,079 between July 1 and Sept. 30, his latest Illinois State Board of Elections disclosure report revealed.

Lesser, of Lake Bluff, raised $46,499 in the same period. But Lesser only entered the race in August, replacing a GOP candidate who quit after winning the March primary.

Morgan's report

Morgan started July with about $158,962 in his campaign coffers, reports show.

During the next three months, he received $46,329 from individual supporters and $49,750 in transfers from political action committees representing lawyers, doctors, real estate agents and other groups.

Teachers unions were particularly generous to Morgan. The Illinois Political Action Committee for Education, a group associated with the Illinois Education Association union, gave him $20,000; the Lake County Federation of Teachers gave him $5,000; and Illinois Federation of Teachers COPE gave him $5,000.

Lesser blasted Morgan for getting "big money support ... from special interests and Springfield insiders."

Morgan said he would be an "independent leader ... who will fight to restore fiscal sanity to Springfield."

Morgan spent about $90,729 during the period and incurred no debt, records show. He ended the quarter with $164,312 saved for the campaign's final weeks.

Lesser's report

Lesser, a former Lake Bluff trustee who ran for the Lake County Board in 2012, was appointed to be the GOP nominee after primary winner Cindy Masover withdrew.

Once in the race, Lesser collected $42,899 in individual donations and $3,600 from political committees, records show.

Donations included:

• $1,000 from Lesser.

• $11,000 from the Illinois Opportunity Project, a public policy group cofounded by conservative activist Dan Proft.

• $5,000 from Robert Isham, a Lake Bluff lawyer and an official with the conservative Illinois Policy Institute.

• $2,500 from the campaign committee for Leslie Munger, a former state comptroller and the acting director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Morgan called Lesser's backers "the right-wing supporters of Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner."

Lesser said he's grateful for the support he's received in such a short period.

"Support is growing every day, giving us the resources we need to get our message out and compete in this important election," he said.

Lesser's committee spent about $22,048 in the period and ended September with nearly $24,451 in the bank.

Team Lesser also owes its candidate $22,000 stemming from loans Lesser made in 2011 and 2012 to his county board campaign, records show.

The 58th District includes eastern parts of Lake and Cook counties. Democratic incumbent Scott Drury is stepping down.