Republican Senate candidates haven't done much fundraising compared with Durbin, reports show
The fundraising efforts by the Illinois Republicans running for U.S. Senate have been paltry compared with what Democratic incumbent Sen. Dick Durbin has collected from supporters, federal reports show.
The five GOP candidates raised a combined $115,694 during the last three months of 2019 - less than 15% of what donors sent Durbin during the same period.
Likewise, the GOP candidates ended 2019 with about $206,063 saved between them - less than 5% of the nearly $4.5 million war chest Durbin had at year's end.
One of them hasn't even filed appropriate paperwork with federal election officials and is using a campaign committee he created four years ago when he ran for the U.S. House as a Democrat.
The Republican candidates in the March 17 primary are retired information technology professional Casey Chlebek of Glenview; former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran of Libertyville; former police officer Peggy Hubbard of Belleville; Dr. Robert Marshall, a physician from Burr Ridge; and Dr. Tom Tarter, a urological oncologist from Springfield.
The winner will face Durbin, a four-tern incumbent from Springfield, in November.
U.S. Senate candidates must file quarterly financial disclosure reports with the Federal Election Commission. Reports are viewable at fec.gov.
Reports covering the last quarter of 2019 had to be filed by Jan. 31.
Curran reported receiving $55,410 during the period, the largest sum of the five Republican candidates.
Notable donors included: former U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren's campaign committee, which gave $2,000; the campaign committee of former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, which gave $1,000; and a political action committee for the Great Lakes Construction Association, which gave $500.
After about $58,184 in expenses, Curran ended the year with $20,387 saved. He also had $10,000 in debt, thanks to a loan he made to the committee in August.
Marshall, who has run for many offices over the last four decades as a Republican and a Democrat, hasn't created a campaign committee for his current Senate bid. Rather, he has recorded donations and spending using the organization he formed as a Democratic candidate for Illinois' 6th House District seat in 2016.
Marshall acknowledged the accounting irregularity in a Daily Herald interview.
Likewise, Marshall has not filed a statement of candidacy for the Senate race with the Federal Election Commission despite being told in September to do so, records indicate.
Marshall loaned his campaign $15,000 in December, his year-end report showed. He listed no other donations.
After $9,925 in expenses, Marshall's committee ended 2019 with $35,550 saved and debts totaling $73,000.
Tarter reported receiving $29,465 in individual donations during the fourth quarter. One notable donor was Sangamon County Republican Party Chairwoman Rosemarie Long, who gave $1,000.
After expenses totaling $55,179, Tarter ended the year with $48,679 saved and $50,000 in debt. He loaned the campaign $50,000 in September, records indicate.
Hubbard reported $12,328 in donations during the fourth quarter, mostly from individual supporters. But she also reported receiving $500 from the Marshall County Central Republican Committee and $50 from the campaign committee for Clinton County Treasurer Denise Trame.
After $23,677 in expenses, Hubbard ended 2019 with $9,949 saved and no debt.
Chlebek collected less than $271 in donations during the final three months of 2019, his report indicated. His paperwork didn't identify donors.
After expenses totaling about $3,286, Chlebek's campaign ended the year with a mere $998 saved. He also reported about $2,886 in debt.
Durbin reported $783,408 in donations during the period. That included $252,700 from various political action committees, such as those representing Microsoft Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Facebook.
Team Durbin reported $322,357 in expenses for the quarter and no debt.