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Three months after one of U.S. Rep. Bill Foster’s Republican challengers reported raising more money from individual donors than the veteran Naperville Democrat, Foster has regained the fundraising crown in the 11th District.
Foster collected $368,623 from individual donors and $227,576 from political action committees in the first three months of 2022 for a total haul of $621,562 – more than all of the GOP candidates combined, documents show.
It was Republican Catalina Lauf of Woodstock – one of six GOP candidates in the 11th – who brought in more cash from individual donors than Foster in the fourth quarter of 2021. This time around, however, Lauf’s sum in that category was less than 42% of Foster’s – and her overall total was about 25% of his sum.
Additionally, reports show Foster has collected nearly $1.7 million in the election cycle, more than Lauf’s roughly $1.2 million total. Lauf’s total receipts had been slightly ahead of Foster’s at the start of the first quarter.
Foster, a former particle physicist first elected to Congress in 2008, thanked his backers in a news release.
“I continue to be honored by everyone who chooses to support me and I look forward to serving the new Illinois’ 11th District next Congress,” he said.
Redrawn for the 2022 election, the 11th District encompasses parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb and Boone counties.
Six Republicans are running for their party’s nomination in the June 28 primary and the chance to face Foster in the Nov. 8 general election: Lauf; Mark Carroll of North Aurora; Jerry Evans of Warrenville; Susan L. Hathaway-Altman of the Geneva area; Andrea Heeg of the Geneva area; and Cassandra Tanner Miller of Elgin.
Congressional candidates must file quarterly financial reports with the Federal Election Commission once their campaigns collect or spend at least $5,000. First-quarter reports covering Jan. 1 through March 31 were due last week and can be viewed at fec.gov.
Foster’s quarter
The Bill Foster for Congress committee started last quarter with nearly $4.3 million in the bank.
Foster serves on the House’s financial services committee and the science, space and technology committee, and many of Team Foster’s donations came from political action committees representing the financial industry, his report showed. They included:
• Bank of America Corp., which gave $2,500.
• TD Bank, which gave $1,000.
• Citigroup, which gave $1,000.
• Morgan Stanley, which gave $2,000.
Two groups supporting abortion rights donated to Foster, too: NARAL Pro-Choice America, which gave $1,000; and Planned Parenthood, which gave $2,000. So did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s campaign committee, which gave $4,000.