Rauner's Campaign Cash Dwarfs Amount In All Other Political Committees

We're less than three weeks away from the start of candidate filings for the March 2016 primary, so it's a good time to start sizing up which candidates can count on the most help from their respective parties.

The big story in campaign financing for 2016, and perhaps the biggest story of the 2016 primary and general election cycles, is the presence of Gov. Bruce Rauner's campaign fund as a virtually limitless funding source for Republican candidates he supports.

Rauner closed October with $19.6 million in his Citizens for Rauner campaign fund. No other campaign committee of any kind in Illinois even comes close to that total.

As the chart above shows, the committee that comes closest is the IllinoisGO independent expenditure committee, which is a Super PAC "founded to support Democratic principles - and encourage Democrats to be leaders in addressing the massive financial challenges facing Illinois and cities across the state," said an IllinoisGo spokesman. "Our goal and success would be defending Democratic incumbents from challenges they may face as a result of taking the tough votes needed to address the crisis."

Another Super PAC in the Top 10 is Turnaround Illinois, whose purpose is "to support state legislative candidates who support Gov. Rauner's bold and needed reforms, and to oppose those who stand in the way," according its filing statement with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

The interactive chart and the rest of this article can be viewed at Reboot Illinois.

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