Blast from the past

Sometimes, it's helpful to look back.

Originally published in the Almanac of Illinois Politics, 2004.

When Blagojevich quietly formed a state-level political committee in June 2000, he called it the Prairie State Committee. The general purpose stated in the organizing documents gave no hint of a possible run for governor. Early speculation about Democratic challengers to Republican Governor George Ryan in the 2002 election mentioned Blagojevich as an after thought, if at all. Over the next seven months, the Prairie State Committee took in $2.3 million.

The hardest dollars to raise in a political campaign, particularly for a non-incumbent, are the first dollars. Once a candidate reaches a threshold of credibility and organizational strength, fundraising becomes easier, although it is rarely easy. EMILY's List was founded on that principal. [...]

The key sources of early money for the Prairie State Committee are listed in Tables 4 and 5. [...]

The top contributor, at $110,000, is the Clifford Law Offices, one of the top trial lawyer firms in Illinois. Clifford Law Offices has a long history of giving to Democratic candidates in Illinois who are sympathetic to the concerns of trial lawyers in their never-ending battles with the business community and physicians over limits on law suits involving product liability and medical malpractice claims. Next, at more than $105,250, is A. Finkl & Sons, the steel company that employed Blagojevich's father. The third-largest source of contributions, at $80,750, is the political committee and the Chicago ward organization controlled by Chicago Alderman Richard Mell, Blagojevich's father-in-law. Ranking fourth are contributions from firms owned by Christopher G. Kelly, who would later become the finance chairman of the Blagojevich for Governor Committee.

Early, big money from political committees is not surprising, given Blagojevich's roots within his father-in-law's ward organization and his position as a U.S. representative. Nor is money from law firms, particularly trial law firms. What is surprising is the almost complete absence of labor money at this stage of the campaign; the greatest sources of funds are from business interests. Blagojevich raised more money from construction/engineering firms ($366,775) than from political committees ($324,050) and more money from general business interests ($313,535) and finance/insurance/real estate interests ($294,901) than from lawyers and law firms ($214,330).

One of the lessons to be learned from this period is the value of starting early. Increasingly more expensive campaigns take longer to put together. Paul Vallas, the former head of the Chicago school system, finished second to Blagojevich in the Democratic primary in March 2002 by less than 26,000 votes. By the time Vallas had committed to running, Blagojevich had already raised $2.3 million. Ultimately, Blagojevich would spend almost twice as much in the primary as Vallas ($7.5 million to $3.6 million). In many ways Vallas was a more attractive candidate than Blagojevich, but his candidacy failed because he lacked money and organization. Starting early does not mean success, but starting late can be fatal.

The other fundraising lesson is the value of family and friends. One of the rules of politics is that it takes money to raise money. Having Richard Mell's 33rd Ward organization, the fundraising contacts built from a successful congressional campaign, and family ties to a large company provided a solid foundation for the Blagojevich fundraising effort.

Read the whole thing. Good stuff and am glad I re-read it. [All emphasis added.]

UPDATE: I just did a quick check at the Board of Elections site and found that the Prairie State Committee raised $461,980 in its first month, including $35,000 from Dick Mell's ward organization.