The incumbents running for reelection in two Central Illinois U.S. House districts both have commanding fundraising advantages against their challengers.
According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen’s campaign had $1.33 million in the bank at the end of June, the end of the second-quarter filing period. That’s over 23 times more than his Republican challenger Dillan Vancil.
Sorensen spent $1 million since January 2025, about four times more than Vancil. Sorensen has raised $2.23 million since January 2025.
Sorensen, a former television meteorologist from Moline, is seeking a third two-year term in Washington.
Responding to the June 30 Supreme Court ruling overturning spending caps, Sorensen said, "we need to get money out of our politics, first and foremost, and I learned that from the very first time that I ran for Congress."
His campaign has received PAC [Political Action Committee] funding from Ameren [$10,000], defense and aerospace company Northrop Grumman [$10,000], Southern Company Gas Employees [$10,000] and State Farm [$8,000].
Vancil, a coffee shop chain owner from Monmouth, has $56,700 on hand. The campaign has raised over $308,000, which includes $11,500 Vancil loaned to the campaign. It has spent $272,464 since January 2025.
The 17th Congressional District stretches from Bloomington-Normal west to Peoria and includes the more urban areas of the Quad Cities and Rockford.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, who has been in Congress since 2015 in a beet-red Republican district, has spent $2.4 million in this election cycle, leaving him with $6.75 million in the bank. He’s raised $3.67 million since January 2025.
That includes PAC contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [$11,000], Ameren [$10,000], Google [$10,000] and Caterpillar [$7,500].
Democratic challenger Paul Nolley, a Rockford man who runs an organization that works with organized labor, has spent just over $185,400 in the campaign and has $230,140 on hand. LaHood has 16 times as much money.
The 16th Congressional District covers mostly rural areas in Central and Northern Illinois stretching from McLean County to the Illinois-Wisconsin border.
The Cook Political Report identifies the 16th Congressional District as “Solid R” as a +11 Republican district, according to its Partisan Voting Index [PVI], which is based on results of the last two presidential elections.
The 17th District moved from “Likely D” to “Solid D” in January. The district which favors Democrats “drifted a few points to the right in 2024, but [Democrat Kamala] Harris still carried it by five points,” according to the report. The district’s PVI is +3 Democratic.
Republicans currently hold a six-seat majority in the House.
The general election will be on Nov. 3. Early voting is set to begin Sept. 24.
