We continue our introduction of the Republican candidates for Illinois governor vying for the chance to challenge JB Pritzker next year.
Here’s a refresher of the six candidates in the race right now:
- former state senator Paul Schimpf
- current State Sen. Darren Bailey
- Cheryl Erickson
- Christopher Roper
- entrepreneur Jesse Sullivan
- entrepreneur Gary Rabine.
We all know money will be a big factor in the race, and there’s already some big money involved.
Take a look at their cash on hand at the end of the second quarter, with third-quarter reports due Oct. 15:
- Schimpf with $116,000.
- Bailey at almost $500,000.
- Erickson, still new to the race, hasn’t filed a financial report yet
- Roper has less than $300.
- Jesse Sullivan made his presence felt when he launched his campaign in September, reporting donations of almost $11 million – that dwarfs the field.
- Gary Rabine has close to $300,000.
Sullivan is from Petersburg, Ill., outside of Springfield. He earned his bachelor’s degree in international studies and theology at Saint Louis University, and he has a master’s degree in global governance and diplomacy from Oxford.
Additionally he earned an MBA from Stanford University.
Sullivan, who never has held elected office, founded a social venture while in college called Live One World.
He spent a year and a half in Afghanistan as a military contractor, a private citizen working for the Department of Defense as a strategic analyst.
While he was at Stanford, he started a venture capital company called Alter Global that provides seed money to startup companies all over the world.
“In Illinois, we have a lot of people who need jobs created,” Sullivan said. “And growing the economy here in Illinois is my entire focus.”
There’s a lot of uncertainty in this campaign with more than eight months until the primary, and this already-large field could get larger.
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