Though big spenders are increasingly common in other states, too, the 2018 race for governor of Illinois could end up breaking the spending record of $280 million set by California’s 2010 contest between Democrat Jerry Brown and Silicon Valley executive Meg Whitman, said Don Wiener, a contributor at the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit watchdog organization in Madison, Wisconsin.
Whitman personally spent $144 million on her losing bid, but Wiener said the total tab for the top job in Illinois could reach $300 million this year if Rauner and Pritzker end up facing each other in the general election. Spending in the Illinois governor’s campaign could represent about 20 percent or even 30 percent of all the money in 36 governor’s races nationwide this year, he said.
“Except for that rare occasion in California, where you had the CEO of eBay running, you’re busting all records with one-third the voting population of California,” Wiener said.